South Korean Church Pastor Convicted On Multiple Rape Charges; Claimed He Was Acting As Per ‘Holy Spirit’

The leader of a Protestant church in South Korea with 1,30,000 followers has been convicted in multiple cases of sexual abuse. Pastor Lee Jae-rock preached chastity to his congregation while taking advantage of the blind faith of some of his female followers to pursue sexual relations with them, CNN has reported.

The Seoul Central District Court observed that 75-year-old Lee had sexually assaulted or harassed a number of victims in their twenties for extended periods of time. In his private teachings, Lee indicated himself as the holy spirit or God. He has also been found guilty of “assaulting multiple women” at the same time according to a press release by the court.

The victims had been part of the church since birth. They were psychologically unable to reject Lee’s advances "due to their absolute faith in the infallibility of the accused".

Five of the women had initially left the church, but were persuaded by a fellow victim to come forward as #MeToo movement gained steam. Lee had denied the allegations, claiming that his accusers were motivated by money.

Lee is known to have also worked as a missionary in South Korea and abroad. In addition to his 15-year prison sentence, the court also ordered that Lee should be sent to 80 hours of a sexual violence therapy program. It has banned him from working with children for 10 years.