Kenneth Duke, a prominent church founder and bishop in Abuja, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison without the possibility of a fine by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gudu, presided over by Justice Adebiyi Osolo.
Duke, 52, from Cross River State, was prosecuted by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for r**ing a 12-year-old girl.
The victim, whose identity remains confidential, was the daughter of a church member and had been placed under Duke’s family care.
A statement by the NAPTIP National Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, on Wednesday, said the convict on March 6, 2023, d£filed the victim (name withheld), thereby committing an offence punishable under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
“Investigation revealed that the victim was living in Lagos before she was brought to Abuja to live with her mother.
The report indicated that on March 5, 2023, her mother took her to the church located at Dantata Zuba Expressway, and after the service, she was taken to the family house of the bishop who is also the pastor of the church so that she could stay with them to enable the bishop’s wife to take her to where she will learn a skill which both families had earlier discussed.
It was gathered that the following day, 6th March 2023, the convict, father of 5 children, sent his children on an errand, and being alone with the victim at home at about 10 am, gave her some mathematics work to solve and as she was trying to do it, the bishop p%unced on her, covered her mouth and r++ed her on a chair despite her crying and pleading.
In the judgment, the randy cleric was found guilty of a one-count charge of r#p£ and was sentenced accordingly without an option of fine,” the statement reads.
