Bible study teacher convicted of raping preteen

A Bible study teacher has been convicted for sexually assaulting a child at least three times, starting when she was 11 years old.

Henry Cooper was found guilty of rape, grievous sexual assault, and two counts of indecent assault in the Home Circuit Court on Monday.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16.

The worst of the three incidents occurred on March 9, 2018, when Cooper raped the then 12-year-old before instructing her to perform a sex act on him, according to evidence led during the trial by prosecutor Syleen O’Gilvie, an assistant director of public prosecutions.

The child was among five witnesses who gave evidence during the trial.

The verdict by the sevenmember jury was unanimous.

At the time of the sexual assaults, the child was living with her foster parents, who were also the leaders of the downtown Kingston church where Cooper led Bible studies for children.

Cooper regularly visited the child’s foster father, who is also the pastor of the church, at the family’s St Andrew home to “pray about church affairs”, the prosecutor told the court.

The first incident occurred in 2017 and the second the following year.