Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ church denies new sexual assault allegations at Philippine senate inquiry
The inquiry is the first time that Apollo Quiboloy has spoken out since being indicted on charges including trafficking.
In short:
Apollo Quiboloy has denied allegations of sexually abusing followers of the church he founded.
A Philippine senate inquiry has heard stories from alleged victims who say the 74-year-old sexually abused them.
What's next?
The preacher challenged the alleged victims to file more charges against him. The inquiry continues.
A Philippine preacher accused of sexually abusing his followers has spoken for the first time since being indicted for trafficking and other criminal charges, denying new allegations of wrongdoing on top of existing charges.
WARNING: This story contains details that may disturb some readers.
Apollo Quiboloy, the self-styled "Appointed Son of God" who founded the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) church, faced off with former church members for the first time on Wednesday, local time, in a senate hearing that probed his alleged misdeeds.
In the public senate inquiry, he was accused of grooming children into sex, forcing a teenager to stop going to school to sell food to fund his church, and obliging workers to flout government rules while working long hours to construct a building for his media firm.
Philippine police officials investigating the preacher told senators that up to 200 women may have been victimised by him over many years, including 68 sexual abuse victims who have been identified by them.
Apollo Quiboloy has been in custody since his arrest last month.
Teresita Valdehueza told senators she left the church after 19 years of membership in 1999 due to the alleged abuse.
"Sleeping beside a man I believed to be chosen by God was for me then a great privilege, an opportunity for a sinner like me," Ms Valdehueza said.
"But what followed shattered my sense of faith and trust. Without a word, after turning off the light, he embraced me, undressed me, and violated me with his lustful act."
Ms Valdehueza, who fought back tears while recounting her ordeal, added she was forced into solitude and mandated to fast for seven months as "punishment for her sins".
Yulya Tartova, another former KOJC member, also accused the preacher of coercing her to have sex with him.
"If you say 'I do not want', he will say 'you did not overcome your flesh. If you will not obey, you will go to hell'," said Ms Tartova, a Ukrainian.
The 74-year-old self-styled televangelist denied the claims, saying: "There is no truth to what they said."
He challenged the accusers to file charges for the new allegations.
Apollo Quiboloy was arrested last month after thousands of police searched his sprawling compound in the southern city of Davao.
He has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges, including sexually abusing a child.
The preacher, a long-time friend of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, is on the FBI's "most wanted" list of in the United States, where he was charged with running a sex-trafficking operation that threatened young victims with "eternal damnation" and physical abuse.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation's poster of Apollo Quiboloy.
Former president Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, have accused police of rights violations and abuse of power in arresting him, widening the rift between the Duterte family and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's administration.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told the senate hearing there has been no request by the United States so far for Mr Quiboloy's extradition.
The preacher has accused US authorities of conspiring with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against him, a charge the Philippine leader has denied.
Despite being behind bars, he has registered to run in the Philippine senate elections set to be held next year.
Reuters/AP/ABC
By：https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-24/apollo-quiboloy-denies-sexual-assaults-in-philippine-senate/104509864(责任编辑：admin)
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