Catholic priest raped me for three years until I became pregnant – Teenager�

A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Nwaigwe Stephen, is currently facing trial at an Awka Chief Magistrate’s Court in Anambra State.

The incident happened in Ihiala, where the priest and the girl had lived together.

Stephen met the teenager when she was 14 at a church he went to minister. He offered to train the teenager, to which her parents agreed.

The teenager lived with Stephen while working as his cook. According to her, the priest began to sleep with her until she became pregnant at age 17.

To cover his atrocious act, Stephen took the girl to native birth attendant in Benin, where she had her baby.

“I was told the baby died and when I asked to see its corpse, the birth attendant and Father told me it had been buried,” the teenager said. She added that before embarking on their journey to Benin, Stephen told you to lie that she became pregnant after some men gang-raped her.

Rejecting Stephen’s bail application, Chief Magistrate Genevieve Osakwe said that rape cases involving minors were on the rise.

She rejected the bail request and ordered that Stephen should be remanded in prison. She adjourned further hearing of the case till December 6, 2023.