Sydney Baptist minister Alofa Talouli Masina, 54, pleads not guilty to rape and indecency, denies prayer session sex
A Sydney Baptist minister has fronted court after allegedly raping a woman during a “prayer of deliverance” and threatened her family with a curse. He has pleaded not guilty.
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A Sydney Baptist minister allegedly raped a woman during a “prayer of deliverance” and threatened her family with a curse if she didn’t take part in sex acts with him, a court has heard.
Alofa Talouli Masina, 54, on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecency and one count of rape in the ACT Supreme Court.
The Sydney-based minister is accused of raping a woman in the ACT by falsely stating that the prayer required her to have sex with him.
Crown prosecutor Skye Jerome told the court Masina went to the woman’s home in Canberra in February 2018, where he told the woman she would have to go to bed with him as part of the prayer.
She did so, but only on the understanding that she would be cursed if she resisted participating, Ms Jerome said.
The court heard the woman had “the fear of God” in her when she agreed to have sex with Masina.
The prosecution case is that Masina’s alleged lies to the woman negated her consent, meaning the sex amounted to rape.
Ms Jerome told the court three other women would give evidence to establish that Masina had a tendency to use the prayer service as a front for making sexual advances.
“A prayer of deliverance is a religious act, but it is a practice that (properly conducted) is not sexual in any way,” Ms Jerome said.
One of the indecency charges involved an allegation Masina pushed his victim’s head towards his groin area.
The court heard she resisted, saying “I don’t care, I don’t do that sort of thing”.
Later in 2018, the alleged victim rang Masina’s wife to tell her about the prayer session.
When confonted by another person over the allegations, Masina is alleged to have said, “I’m not going to say that (the victim) is right or (the victim) is wrong, all I can say is it is between me and the Holy Spirit”.
Masina’s barrister, Gregor Urbas, said his client would rely on an alibi, that he wasn’t in Canberra on the day of the alleged offending.
He said his client was also a man of good character, with no criminal history.
The judge-alone trial, before Justice David Mossop, continues.