In the case involving a Catholic priest who allegedly raped a sixteen-year-old girl, police charged sheet has revealed that the man of God actually molested the kid by inserting his private part into her vagina.
Father Daniel L. George, aged 32, the priest of the Christ The King Catholic Church on the Old Road, was arrested on Tuesday October 8, 2024 at 19:45 at his Christ the King residence for the commission of the crime of statutory rape which he allegedly perpetrated against the 16 year-old victim.
Based on the charge, Magistrate Ben Barco of the Monrovia City Court on Saturday, October 12, 2024, sent Rev. Father George to the Monrovia Central Prison (South Beach) pending trial. According to the police charge sheet, the Catholic priest allegedly raped the victim from May to October 2024.
The priest sexually molested the victim by inserting his penis in her vagina on multiple occasions within his bed room situated at the Christ the King Catholic Church compound on the Old Road and at the victim’s Old Road residence respectively.
During a police interview with the victim who is a member of the Christ the King Catholic Church, she informed the investigation that the defendant, while serving the position of priest in their church, in which her mother is also a member, gained the trust of her mother.
The investigation said that during the month of April 2024, defendant George would call the victim’s mother and request to take her out on weekends and her mother would grant him permission. He sometimes takes her to the invincible park when he is going to play football.
Eventually, her mother became uncomfortable with such an attitude and stopped him from taking her daughter out. Her mother also went further to inform another priest identified as Father Patrick to stop the defendant from visiting her home.
The victim said during the month of May 2024 while at the church, the defendant told her that he had some pictures for her at his house and asked her to follow him for it but she told him that she needed to see her mother quickly.
Defendant George insisted and convinced her that she wouldn’t stay long at his house. So she went to his residence and sat in the living room while he was in his bedroom. Suddenly, he asked her to enter the room and help him find the pictures which she obeyed.
Immediately as she entered his bedroom, he pushed her on his bed and he undressed her and had sexual intercourse with her, the police charge sheet revealed.
The victim further narrated that in the month of June 2024, defendant George entered the compound of her residence; she asked him to leave but he refused and began threatening her and her mother that he has already assigned people to her mother’s office to kill her.
Furthermore, the defendant threatened the victim that if she refuses to have sex with him, her mother will be killed. He forcefully had sexual intercourse with her in her living room and repeated the threat before leaving.
The victim explained that she stayed away from church for three months and on Sunday, October 6, 2024 she went to church because her mother insisted.
According to her, when she got to the church, she avoided making contact with him but he kept on calling her until a lady took notice and informed her that the defendant was calling her, but she refused to go to him and afterward left service and returned home.
On Wednesday, October 8, 2024, during that afternoon hours, defendant George went to the victim’s parent’s residence after forcing himself to enter the fence. She was holding a knife while peeling her orange, and as he got closer, she warned him to stay away and also threatened to kill her during which time a nurse, Patience Sumo, had gone to buy medical drug (Flaggy) for her.
Additionally, the charge sheet said that the defendant engaged the victim physically and forcefully took the knife from her leaving her to sustain injury on her left wrist.
He afterward went into her room and called her in when the nurse returned and while she was trying to open the gate, he again threatened to kill two of them and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her, at which time her mother entered the house and caught defendant George after he tried hiding herself. Her mother immediately called the church administrator and later informed the police.
During further background investigation into the matter, a team of trained sex crime investigators headed by CIP Nyumah S. Gborie visited the crime scene (victim’s house) and interviewed relevant witnesses, photographed the scene, obtained photos of the defendant when he was caught at the victim’s house and obtained medical records from examination conducted on the victim at the Duport One Road Stop center.
The witnesses in separate accounts corroborated the narrative of allegations provided by the victim.
During interrogation with defendant Daniel L. George, he categorically denied the allegations of rape levied against him but admitted to have been at the residence of the victim on October 8, 2024, based upon invitation by the victim.
T.Q. Lula Jaurey
