(Jamaica Gleaner) Moravian pastor Rupert Clarke has pleaded guilty to two counts of having sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 years old.
The complainants are both sisters.
Clarke entered the guilty plea in the St Elizabeth Circuit Court yesterday (Wednesday).
His bail has been extended until his sentencing on March 8, next year.
Clarke had appeared in court for the hearing of an application by the prosecution to transfer the sexual offence matter from the St Elizabeth Circuit Court to the Home Circuit Court in Kingston.
Justice Martin Gayle reportedly granted the application for the matter to be transferred to Kingston when Clarke’s lawyer Deborah Martin asked for his client to re-enter a plea.
That’s when Clarke changed his plea from not-guilty to guilty on two counts of having sex with a person under sixteen years old.
Clarke, the 64-year-old was the pastor of the Nazareth Moravian Church in Manchester.
The police report that in December last year, a team was on patrol in a community near Santa Cruz when they observed a parked car that aroused their suspicion.
They went to investigate and reportedly found the pastor in a compromising position with a child.
He was immediately taken into police custody.
Further investigations revealed that Clarke also had a sexual relationship with the child’s sister.
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