A 63-year-old cleric, Chris Douglas, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja for raping a church member’s daughter.

What happened

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that Douglas, the General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, Oshodi, grossly abused his position of spiritual authority and trust to exploit the victim.

“The convict occupied a position of spiritual authority and was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family,” the judge said.

Instead of protecting that trust, the judge added, Douglas “betrayed it in the most reprehensible manner.”

The court heard that the abuse took place in a hotel on several occasions while the victim and her family looked up to the cleric for spiritual guidance.

Victim’s trauma

Justice Oshodi noted that the victim suffered severe psychological trauma as a direct result of the abuse.

“The court accepts the evidence that the victim suffered depression and recurring suicidal thoughts as a direct consequence of the convict’s actions,” he said.

Prosecution’s case

The prosecution, led by Director of Public Prosecution Dr Babajide Martins, called five witnesses, including the victim, her mother, and a medical doctor.

The victim testified that Douglas drugged and raped her in September 2017.

“I trusted him like a spiritual father. I never imagined he could do this to me,” she told the court.

Her mother recounted confronting the cleric at his church, where he allegedly cried and blamed the devil before begging for forgiveness in the presence of church elders.

The matter was later reported to a human rights organisation, the police at Makinde Division, and the Mirabel Centre for medical examination.

Defence and court ruling

Douglas denied the allegations, claiming the relationship was consensual.

However, Justice Oshodi rejected the consent defence, ruling that the prosecution proved rape beyond reasonable doubt.

“The defence of consent is not supported by the totality of the evidence before the court,” the judge held.

The court discharged Douglas on six counts of defilement and sexual assault but found him guilty on three counts of rape.

Sentence

Justice Oshodi sentenced the convict to life imprisonment on each of the three counts, with the sentences to run concurrently.

“The law must protect the vulnerable, and this court will not hesitate to punish abuse of trust in the strongest terms,” the judge said.

The court also ordered that Douglas’ name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.

This is a clear case of betrayal of trust by someone who was supposed to provide spiritual leadership. The judgment has sparked discussions on the need for stricter oversight in religious institutions.