Bertoua priest arrested for rape

Father Emilien Messina was until now, priest of the plateau parish in the Mokolo neighborhood in Bertoua. He has been accused of pedophilia and has been arrested and taken to Bertoua Central prison pending trial. This follows a complaint from a young girl’s parents who say the priest repeatedly raped and in the process infected their daughter with the HIV virus. The girl who is now 17 years old says the priest starting sexually assaulting her when she was 14 years old and acting as mass servant in the parish while battling cancer. About ten other married women in this same parish confirm the priest also passed on the virus to them and are suing for damages. Sources on ground say other children are coming forward to say the priest did a similar thing to them

The entire East regional archdiocese is greatly affected by this scandal