Girl, 14, narrates how proprietor defiled her 7 years ago

A 14-year-old rape victim, yesterday, told an FCT High Court in Maitama how her abuser defiled her while she was only seven years old.

The defendant, one Emmanuel Matthew, proprietor of Emmabeth Academy, Mpape, Abuja, was arraigned before the court in 2012 on a six-count charge bordering on inducement and rape, contrary to sections 283 and 285 of the penal code.

At the resumed hearing, yesterday, the victim, while giving testimony as the fifth prosecution witness, told the court that Matthew, who is also a pastor with Winners Chapel, forcibly inserted his finger in her private part and also had carnal knowledge of her schoolmate who was also a minor while she was attending the defendant’s school in 2012.

She also alleged that the defendant sexually assaulted her elder sister who was nine years old then.

Led in evidence by Ejike Orji, the prosecuting counsel, the victim said: “I was in school and Pastor Emmanuel took me inside his office and put his fingers into my private part severally.

“He did that to me and my senior sister and the other girl. He later gave my sister N10,’’ she said.

When interrogated further by the prosecutor, she said the defendant went ahead to remove his trousers and inserted his penis into the private part of the other girl.

She said she narrated the incident to her mother who immediately reported the matter to her pastor.

According to her, the mother and her pastor only warned the defendant of the repercussions of his actions.

The victim further explained that the defendant invited policemen three days after the incident to arrest the mother and her pastor, adding that the police became abreast of the matter through her mother’s statement.

She said the police immediately took over the matter by taking the three of them (children) to the hospital for examination.

The trial judge, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, adjourned the matter to May 30 for continuation of hearing.