Pastor rapes SHS student

A pastor who volunteered to exorcise evil spirits from a 22-year-old senior high school leaver through prayers has been arrested for taking advantage of the situation to allegedly rape her.
Joseph Bondzie of the Agona Swedru branch of the Saviour Church of Ghana, who is said to have admitted raping the young woman, is in custody assisting the Agona Swedru police in their investigations.

Bondzie is said to have visited the victim’s aunt, who is a member of the Saviour Church and told the woman that there were some evil forces pursuing the victim, which made her promiscuous.

The pastor is said to have visited the victim in her house on August 27 this year, in the absence of her aunt, to pray with her.

In the course of the prayer, Bondzie was alleged to have asked the victim to open her mouth to enable him to breathe the “Holy Spirit” into her, a request the young woman allegedly obliged to.

The victim claimed she lost consciousness and later woke up to find semen around her private parts.

She could not fathom how she slept and suspected that the pastor might have hypnotised her before sleeping with her.

According to the Agona Swedru Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nana Asomah Hinneh, Bondzie is alleged to have developed interest in the victim after visiting her aunt at their residence at Nsawam, a suburb of Agona Swedru.

He stated that subsequently, Bondzie claimed the victim had confided in him that some evil spirits were tormenting her and that she wanted the pastor to pray for her, which he obliged.

ACP Hinneh said on August 27, 2013, Bondzie went to the victim’s house in the morning to pray with her and in the course of the prayer session, the victim fell asleep, only to wake up to find that she had been raped and the pastor had bolted.

The victim then reported the matter to her aunt when she returned home. A formal report was made to the Swedru Divisional DOVVSU Office, where a medical form was issued to the victim for medical examination at the Winneba Hospital.

The examination confirmed that the victim had been raped.

He added that Bondzie, accompanied by the victim’s aunt, went to the victim’s mother at Mahodwe, another suburb of Swedru, to apologise for the act.

Bondzie was arrested last Friday.

The Divisional Commander said Bondzie had admitted the offence and would be put before court soon.

By Gilbert Mawuli Agbey/The Mirror/Ghana