Swedish pastor jailed for prayer circle rape
A Swedish Pentacostalist pastor has been sentenced to two years imprisonment for raping a member of a prayer group which he led at a church in Stockholm, according to a report in the Dagens Nyheter daily.
The married father of several children was sentenced at Södertörns district court in July in spite of his denials.
The man claimed that in fact it was he that had been raped by the woman, telling the court that once he had freed himself from "the grip of her limbs" he knelt by the side of the bed and prayed.
The pastor became friends with the woman at the prayer group and when she sought help finding a new room mate he offered to help, suggesting another single female member of the congregation.
But when the man turned up at the woman's apartment, he came alone, bearing only a condom.
The pastor proceeded to suggest that the pair live in the apartment together, a suggestion the woman dismissed out of hand as she had no intention of living with a man.
After a conversation lasting around an hour, the woman rose to go to the toilet and when she opened the door found herself confronted by the pastor who dragged her into the bedroom and raped her.
The woman was left injured and shocked by the incident and has not been able to return to work since.
The newspaper reported that the pastor had previously been forced out of a Pentecostalist church in Stockholm after members of the congregation accused him of molestation.
On that occasion, three years ago, the police were not informed.
The Local/pvs
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The married father of several children was sentenced at Södertörns district court in July in spite of his denials.
The man claimed that in fact it was he that had been raped by the woman, telling the court that once he had freed himself from "the grip of her limbs" he knelt by the side of the bed and prayed.
The pastor became friends with the woman at the prayer group and when she sought help finding a new room mate he offered to help, suggesting another single female member of the congregation.
But when the man turned up at the woman's apartment, he came alone, bearing only a condom.
The pastor proceeded to suggest that the pair live in the apartment together, a suggestion the woman dismissed out of hand as she had no intention of living with a man.
After a conversation lasting around an hour, the woman rose to go to the toilet and when she opened the door found herself confronted by the pastor who dragged her into the bedroom and raped her.
The woman was left injured and shocked by the incident and has not been able to return to work since.
The newspaper reported that the pastor had previously been forced out of a Pentecostalist church in Stockholm after members of the congregation accused him of molestation.
On that occasion, three years ago, the police were not informed.
The Local/pvs
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