Pastor Aneke, 44, a deacon in the church, was alleged to have slept with the victim six different times in his apartment on James Esu Street, in the Bariga area of the state. Apparently, the clergyman and the victim’s parents were friends, which was why the girl's mother, a food vendor, reached an agreement with him to leave her two daughters with him every morning before they resumed school at 7.45am.
Every morning, the mother left the house for her trade at 6am, while her husband, a security guard, also left for his place of work the same time. One of Pastor Aneke’s three daughters attended the same school with the girl and her younger sister, which made the arrangement to work.
While Pastor Aneke’s wife, a trader, who equally left the house early for her shop was away, he was alone with all the children as they prepared for school. One police source at the command headquarters’ gender office explained that the clergyman, originally from Udi in Enugu State, started using the opportunity to defile the girl.
He said: “The girl’s mother had been good to him in the past. There was a time he didn’t have a job and it was the woman who fed his four children.
“So, since he had had his own job, the woman thought he would reciprocate by assisting her family to get her two daughters to school, along with one of his three daughters attending the same school. Unfortunately, the man took advantage of the seven-year-old as he would undress her and insert his manhood in her private parts and when he could not penetrate, he would apply his spittle to make it easier.”
According to the police, the act went on until last Tuesday when he again raped the victim and afterwards threatened her not to tell anybody and if she did, he would kill her. It was learnt that the girl opened up to her parents following this and the matter was subsequently reported to policemen at the Bariga Police Division and the deacon was arrested.
Following his arrest, the victim was taken to the Mirabel Centre of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where a test allegedly confirmed that there was a penetration. Following this, the matter was subsequently transferred to the Gender Office of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja.
Pastor Aneke, however, denied raping the girl, saying he only attempted to defile her once and that when he could not penetrate, he suspended the action. He attributed his actions to the devil and begged for forgiveness, saying he just wanted to die.
“This girl was taught to lie against me as I only attempted to have sex with her once and that was the day she told her parents. I didn’t even remove her pants as on that day, I shifted her pants sideways and wanted to penetrate but when I saw it was not possible, I left her and ejaculated outside her private parts.
“I am a leader in my church and I don’t want to bring my church into this mess. Even before anybody condemned me, I have already condemned myself and I wish I was not born as I was influenced by evil forces to do this," Pastor Aneke added.
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