58 year old Nigerian priest, Father Hilary Ogom Nwadei, pictured above has been sentenced to 8 months in jailed by a UK court for sexually assaulting a woman he met while staying at St Mary’s Priory in Leyland on December 12, 2013.
According to Lancashire Evening Post, Father Nwadei, a priest from the Diocese of Issele-Uku in Delta State, Nigeria, had moved to the UK to pursue his doctorate in Law degree at the University of Lancashire when the incident happened.
He was said to have complained of loneliness and became friends with his victim. On the day of the incident, he’d invited the lady to come to his room to help him pack for a trip to Nigeria when he assaulted her by fondling her boobs.
The prosecuting counsel, David Traynor, while briefing the court said
“The defendant (fr Nwadei) leaned against the door of the room, causing it to shut. He was between her and her way out of the room. He asked her for a kiss and she presented him with her cheek, but the defendant said ‘No, a proper kiss’, then kissed her on the lips. The victim said she wanted to leave and tried to leave, then the defendant asked if she had any sexual feelings towards him. When she said no the defendant reached up the back of her jumper and undid her bra. Then he moved his hands round the front, underneath her jumper and placed his hands under her bra, onto her naked breasts. He fondled her breasts for a matter of seconds. The woman made her excuses to leave, but he was still between her and the door, so she couldn’t leave at that point.”he said.
Fr Nwadei then unzipped his trousers, bought out his penis and at that point, the woman asked to leave which he obliged but pleaded with her to keep what transpired between them a secret.
It was revealed during court session that this was not the first time he had sexually assaulted her. On previous days, he had told the woman he loved her, “twanged” her bra and slipped £100 in her pocket for new underwear, an act the woman reported to the church who immediately launched an investigation with the help of police.
Fr Nwadei returned to Nigeria and then visited Leyland briefly again to apologize to the woman for his actions. But knowing that he was wanted for questioning, he left the UK again, following the death of his father and did not return until he was arrested at Heathrow Airport while on a transit flight to the USA in December 2014 – 12 months after the offence.
The presiding judge, Judge Michael Byrne while delivering his judgement said statements from the victim showed that she was intimidated and scared of Nwadei. He said it was a breach of trust for a minister of religion to invite his victim to his bedroom with the purpose of having sexual encounter with her.
The Judge jailed him for eight months with a £100 statutory charge. Nwadei will be put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years, and will be deported from the UK immediately after his jail term expires.
