Disturbing Report: Former Georgia pastor pleads guilty to sexually assaulting African girl on mission trip, feds say
By Tina Sylvester // Global News // EEW Magazine Online
Countless Christian leaders go on mission trips to African countries and provide humanitarian aid while sharing the gospel.
But there are some bad apples in the bunch that use their travels to foreign nations as a ploy to take advantage of the vulnerable with no repercussions.
One such Georgia man has pleaded guilty to raping a girl while on a mission trip to Africa. He is now facing 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Mbale congregation where child predator Eric Tuininga served had grown from 30 to about 130. Each of the ten village churches was served by a trained minister who was trusted to care for the souls of the flock. (Credit: GFM)
The former Orthodox Presbyterian minister, Eric Tuininga, 44, was officially charged with “engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places,” DOJ officials said in a news release, reports The Associated Press. The girl was only 14 when Tuininga violated her in 2019, officials said.
“Tuininga was supposed to be someone that could be trusted, but instead he abused that trust and victimized a child,” Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger said in the release.
Eric Tuininga baptizing a Ugandan child (Credit: GFM)
Mark Bube, general secretary of the denomination's committee of foreign missions, said Tuininga was removed from the ministry and excommunicated from the church.
“We are all deeply grieved over this,” Bube said in a telephone interview with Stamford Advocate. “He has brought shame on the name of our savior Jesus Christ.”
The investigation was triggered in June 2019 after a U.S. citizen reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, and reported that Tuininga “was having sex with Ugandan female minors as young as 14-years-old,” federal officials said.
The wolf in sheep’s clothing was supposed to be doing the Lord’s good work with a group of ministers in Mbale, Uganda, but instead abused his affiliation with a U.S.-based Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
The U.S. citizen who initially made the accusation was also connected to the ministry in Mbale, according to AP.
Tuininga could face up to 30 years in prison for his crime.
When the disturbing accusation was brought to the attention of authorities, by then Tuininga had already returned to the States which is what prompted the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations to get involved, officials said.
Federal agents confirmed that the former pastor was indeed forcing sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old Ugandan minor while supposedly caring for her spiritually.
“Tuininga now admits that he came to know the victim in his capacity as a religious leader and that the victim would often visit the OPC church, including a religious compound, overseen by Tuininga. Tuininga also now admits that he engaged in illicit sexual conduct with the child,” officials said in the release.
Tuininga will be sentenced May 3.
In addition to possibly receiving the maximum sentence of 30 years without the possibility of parole, the predator could face $250,000 in fines, officials said.
"Eric Tuininga used his trusted position as a pastor to sexually assault a young Ugandan girl in his care. This was a challenging case, but law enforcement worked diligently to ensure that Tuininga did not escape justice for his crime overseas," said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. "The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our national and international law enforcement partners, will do everything in our power to catch child predators and hold them accountable for their crimes."
