OKLAHOMA/KENYA
Charisma News
HEIDE BRANDES/REUTERS
An Oklahoma man charged with sexually molesting children at a Kenyan orphanage told a U.S. federal court on Wednesday he was innocent but believed he was possessed by an evil spirit that made him do things he does not remember.
Matthew Durham, 20, of Edmond, took the stand in his own defense on 17 charges of raping and sexually abusing children as young as 6 when he was performing Christian missionary work at the Upendo Children’s Home in Kenya.
If convicted, Durham faces up to life in prison.
When the home manager confronted Durham about possible inappropriate behavior with the children, he denied the accusations, he said.
Durham blamed an evil spirit named Luke for the crimes.
“They told me that an eyewitness saw me,” Durham said.
“I thought that meant (Luke) came at night. I have no recollection of molesting those children, but they told me I did, so it must have been an evil spirit. I wasn’t in a good place.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.