Rev. Christian Ohazulume,
an extern priest from Nigeria, allegedly assaulted the girl while he was living
with a family in Randolph upon his arrival in the United States, officials
said. The girl was about 8 years old at the time, prosecutors said.
The Nigerian priest in the
United State of America who had been working as a Boston hospital chaplain was
arraigned Tuesday September 11, 2018 for the alleged sexual abuse of a young
girl in 2006, authorities said, Boston Globe reports.
At his arraignment in
Quincy District Court, Ohazulume, 50, pleaded not guilty to three counts of
aggravated indecent assault and battery of a child under 14. He allegedly
touched the girl’s vaginal area, fondled her breast, and forcibly kissed her,
prosecutors said.
In an interview with police
last week, the alleged victim said she had come from Nigeria to live with her
father, stepmother, and brothers in Randolph when she was about 7. Her father
introduced Ohazulume as his nephew, she told police.
She told investigators that
Ohazulume would drive her to and from school and help with baby-sitting,
according to court documents. Her father worked long hours as a pharmacist in
Dorchester and would come home late, she said.
The alleged assault
occurred when she went to Ohazulume’s bedroom for help with her homework one
night when nobody else was home, the woman told police.
At one point, he went to
the bathroom and returned to stand over her, handling her breasts, she said.
When she approached him
later that evening to show him her homework, he forced his tongue into her
mouth, the woman told police. He then lay on top of her on the bed and rubbed
her vaginal area over her clothing, she said. She forced his hand away and ran
from the room, she said.
Afterward, he continued to
drive her to school but she became very angry with everyone in the house, where
Ohazulume would hold private Masses for the family.
The woman said she returned
to Nigeria when she was 11 or 12, then came back to Randolph to attend Roxbury
Community College.
Ohazulume had worked as a
chaplain at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center while residing at St. Mary of
the Assumption Parish in Brookline since 2010, according to The Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Boston.
Jennifer Kritz, a
spokeswoman for Beth Israel, said Ohazulume had been fired from his job at the
hospital.
“The Archdiocese has been
in contact with his home Diocese of Nnewi, Nigeria and informed them of the
allegation and that his faculties to minister have been withdrawn in the
Archdiocese of Boston,” the statement read. “The Archdiocese was advised by law
enforcement to delay until today release of this information while they
initiated their investigation.”

No comments:
Post a Comment