Pastor jailed 15 years for raping 8 members, saying it was God’s order
Prior to his backsliding and subsequent incarceration, Lee Jaerock had about 130,000-strong congregation in the East Asian country.
Reports say prior to his backsliding and subsequent incarceration, Lee Jaerock had about 130,000-strong congregation in the East Asian country.
The man of God was accused of sexually assaulting five women in April this year, most of whom reportedly told Korea Herald that he coerced them with the name of God and raped them several times.
Just like in some other countries, experts say around 60 people in the country claim to be divine in South Korea with some having been implicated in fraud, brainwashing, coercion, and other behaviours associated with cults worldwide.
Following his trial and imprisonment, one of the rape victims was quoted by told South Korean television as saying “I was unable to turn him down,” ostensibly because he used the name of God in committing the act.
The woman who had been a member of Lee Jaerock’s church since childhood added that “he was more than a king. He was God.”
The court arrived at the 15-year jail term decision after it came to light during the trial that the revered man of God had raped the victims tens of times over a long period.
South Korea is known for its technological advancement with about 44 percent of its citizens being Christians.
Globally, pastors and other religious leaders wield a lot of influence and reverence, and some of them hide behind the name of God to perpetrate ungodly acts on their ‘blind’ followers.
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