A Resident Pastor of Glorious Covenant Church, Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, Piller Erekwa, yesterday, pleaded guilty to abusing 15-year-old girl in Emohua Local Council of the state.

The cleric, who was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Ogeh Elkanah of Magistrate’s Court 1, in Port Harcourt, pleaded guilty to a sexual abuse charge preferred against him by the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID).

Consequently, Chief Magistrate Elkanah remanded the father of six in Correctional Centre in Port Harcourt, pending his sentencing on July 19,2023.The charge, read to Erekwa, stated that he sexually abused a 15-year-old girl in Mgbuola village, Ndele, between December 2022 and January 2023, thereby committing an offence punishable by law of Rivers State.

Magistrate Elkanah adjourned the matter to July 19, for facts and sentencing. Recall that Pastor Erekwa was arrested, last week Thursday, at Ndele by Rumuji Police Division and later transferred to SCIID for further investigation.

Reacting, National Coordinator of Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, Prince Wiro, commended the police for arraigning the suspect in court.

Wiro also commended the family of the survivor for not bowing to pressure to settle the case out of court.