A South African judge shut down prosecutors trying to appeal the acquittal of Nigerian preacher Timothy Omotoso and two church workers after a trial that lasted years on trafficking and sexual assault charges. Judge Irma Schoeman said the state completely botched its case by failing to properly question the defendants, and she called their courtroom work terrible when she rejected their petition in Gqeberha.
Omotoso got deported back to Nigeria after beating the charges and facing an immigration case for overstaying his visa, and authorities banned him from coming back for five years. The prosecution might try petitioning a higher court as their last shot, but the whole thing exposed serious problems with how sexual offense cases get handled.
The preacher ran Jesus Dominion International out of Durban and originally faced nearly a hundred counts before many got dropped, and his accusers claimed he groomed young congregation members under the cover of spiritual mentorship.
Omotoso got deported back to Nigeria after beating the charges and facing an immigration case for overstaying his visa, and authorities banned him from coming back for five years. The prosecution might try petitioning a higher court as their last shot, but the whole thing exposed serious problems with how sexual offense cases get handled.
The preacher ran Jesus Dominion International out of Durban and originally faced nearly a hundred counts before many got dropped, and his accusers claimed he groomed young congregation members under the cover of spiritual mentorship.
