Prophet Anwana Peter Essien, pastor of Restoration Bible Church, Itiam Street, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for defiling his 10-year-old stepdaughter.
The Prophet, a native of Afaha Ise in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, defiled his victim, a JSS 1 student, on August 9, 2019, when her mother took her and her younger sister to their stepfather’s house for a holiday.
The convict in his evidence admitted to the crime saying that the “devil pushed him at midnight to forcefully have a carnal knowledge of his step daughter.”
In his decision, the presiding judge, Justice Okon Okon, who condemned the act, stated that the convict’s confession was direct and unequivocal that he committed the crime.
He claimed that the evidence of prosecution witnesses, such as the medical report and the confessional statement, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the convict committed the crime.
While committing him to 21 years in prison, Justice Okon stated that it was effective from the time the convict was taken into custody at the Uyo Custodial Centre.
