(Jamaica Gleaner) A Jamaican ex-pastor, could face deportation from the US after serving a 30-year sentence for rape.
The former minister of a Connecticut church, was convicted for repeatedly raping a girl, an incident that began when she was six years-old.
The Associated Press reports that Orane Cole, 45, maintained his innocence during his sentencing hearing yesterday in the Bridgeport Superior Court. However, Judge Eugene Calistro said Cole admitted to police that he sexually assaulted the victim.
The victim faced Cole as she spoke during the hearing.
“You took something from me I can never get back: my innocence,” the woman, now in her 20s, said. “You took me under your wing, not to protect me, but to hurt me over and over again. Mr. Cole, you hurt me so bad.”
Prosecutors said Cole, who ministered a Bridgeport church, began raping the girl when she was in kindergarten and the assaults continued until 2017 when she was a teenager. A jury convicted him of three counts of first-degree sexual assault in March.
After prison, Cole would be on probation for 30 years and have to register as a sex offender for the rest of this life. But his public defender, Bradford Buchta, said Cole is a Jamaican citizen and likely would face deportation after prison.
