A South African court acquitted a Nigerian televangelist on 32 charges Wednesday, eight years after he was imprisoned on accusations of raping and sexually assaulting several young women from his church.
Eastern Cape High Court Judge Irma Schoeman stated that the prosecution had mishandled its case against Tim Omotoso, 66, the senior pastor of Jesus Dominion International (JDI) church in South Africa.
Omotoso, who was arrested in 2017, fell to his knees and seemed to pray after the judge declared him not guilty of all charges, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
Schoeman stated that although the pastor’s explanations seemed improbable, state prosecutors had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt against him and the two assistants who also faced charges.
“The accused are found not guilty and are discharged on all the charges,” she ruled.
The women who testified against Omotoso claimed they were handpicked by the pastor, who would pray for forgiveness after each encounter with them. Some of the women had been members of a gospel girl band called Grace Galaxy, established by the pastor, while others were still in school, according to the judge.
Amid South Africa’s ongoing struggles with high rates of rape and abuse of women and children, dozens of women protested outside the court in the eastern coastal city of Gqeberha as the verdict was being read.
Thousands of people gathered in several cities on Tuesday to demand action from authorities after a seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped at her school last year. No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
According to police figures, 42,500 rapes were reported in South Africa during the financial year 2023-24.