Pastor jailed 24-months for ‘fingering’ 3-year-old girl

Pastor Wisdom Kusorgbor, the Head pastor of Soldiers of the Cross Ministries, located at Korle-Gonno near Accra, will spend 24 months with hard labour in prison for inserting his fingers in the genitals of a three-year-old girl.

The 25-year-old preacher was slapped with the jail term Monday after the Accra Circuit Court found him guilty of indecent assault.

He had pleaded not guilty to the offence, but after more than a year of trial, the court, presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, found the accused guilty.

The court held that the prosecution led by Chief Inspector Kofi Atimbire, proved its case beyond reasonable doubt to establish the guilt of the man of God.

Apart from inserting his fingers into the genitals of the minor, evidence on record also showed that although Pastor Kusorgbor did not penetrate the girl, he used his penis to “brush” the genitals of the girl.

“Lost memory”

During the trial, Pastor Kusorgbor created the impression that he was mentally challenged and had lost his memory.

He told the court that he did not remember given a statement to the police when he was arrested.

Also, he claim he had no memory of the sequence of event of the offence or the victim.

But surprisingly, he remembered most of the event relating to the case when he opened his defence and, during that period he regained his memory.

According to the court, the convict’s behaviour of remembering things only when it suited him, was a deliberate attempt to throw dust into the eyes of the court.

Delivering her sentence, Mrs Adjin-Doku said she took into consideration Pastor Kusorgbor’s age and the fact that he was a man of God, adding “you should have known better.’’

Incident

Per the facts of the case, as presented by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Atimbire, the complainant is the mother of the three-year-old girl.

Pastor Kusorgbor, he said, stays s at Korle-Gonno but got to know the victim through his (Kusorgbor’s) mother who lives in the same compound house with the complainant.

The prosecutor explained that whenever Pastor Kusorgbor visited this mother, he gave his mobile phone to the three-year-old child to watch cartoons.

On December 28, 2016, Inspector Atimbire said Pastor Kusorgbor visited the mother, but did not meet her at home.

“Pastor Kusorgbor carried the three-year-old child to his mother’s room to watch cartoons on his phone. While she was watching the cartoons, he inserted his finger and used his penis to brush her vagina but did not penetrate,’’ he said.

According to the prosecutor, the girl later informed her mother about her ordeal at the hands of Pastor Kusorgbor.

“The mother lodged a complaint at the Mamprobi DOVVSU where a police medical form was issued to her to send the girl to the hospital for examination and treatment.

Pastor Kusorgbor was subsequently arrested and charged with the offence,” he said.

Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh