Apostle D. Franklin Snorton, the Founder and General Overseer of the Image of Christ Deliverance Philadelphia Central Church in Kakata, Margibi County, was arrested by the Liberian National Police for reportedly raping a 21-year-old pregnant woman.
The incident is said to have happened at the pastor’s Mandingo Quarter community residence in Kakata.
The suspect was scheduled to appear in Kakata Magisterial Court on Monday, August 23, 2021.
Apostle Snorton, a rape survivor’s neighbour, was arrested in Kakata on Friday, August 20, 2021, after his alleged rape survivor’s father reported the case to the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National Police’s Margibi County Detachment.
According to the father of the alleged rape survivor, she (name withheld) was asked by her grandmother during the early hours of Friday, August 20, to deliver electricity bills totalling L$1,000 to Apostle Snorton.
He claimed that when his daughter arrived at Apostle Snorton’s house, he allegedly lured her into a mini-office in his home.
According to the father, his daughter told him and the police that when she arrived at his house, he invited her into a mini-office and demanded sex from her while threatening to kill her if she resisted.
He also claimed that his daughter claimed that Pastor Snorton had been harassing her for sex prior to the rape.
His daughter returned home minutes later to inform her grandmother about the alleged rape.
He explained that his daughter’s grandmother called him right away and alerted other family members to the situation.
He went on to say that his daughter’s ordeal prompted the family to report the case to the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberian National Police’s Margibi County Detachment.
According to police sources, a medical report from the county’s One-Stop Center, where alleged rape survivors are tested, shows that there is trauma to the victim’s vagina evidence of penetration.
Meanwhile, some journalists have expressed concern about receiving death threats for reporting on the alleged rape of the pastor.
