An Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced Enoch Ebinyiam, a pastor at Winner Chapel Church in Omuo-Ekiti, to life imprisonment for raping a minor.

The sentencing occurred on Thursday after the court determined that the evidence against Ebinyiam was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The victim, the daughter of a church member, was raped by the pastor during one of her visits to the vicarage. She often visited the mission house to assist the pastor’s wife with chores and help his children with their schoolwork.

During one visit, the pastor sedated her with a bottle of Fanta laced with a sleeping potion. After she fell asleep, he raped her. She woke up bleeding profusely.

Ebinyiam was arrested and charged with rape, in violation of section 2 of the Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019.

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Julius Ajibade, presented four witnesses and two exhibits to support the case.

The convict, represented by his counsel Adeyinka Opaleke, provided evidence in his defense and called one other witness.

Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi ruled that the prosecution had proven the case of rape beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to the pastor’s life sentence.