Oklahoma missionary accused of raping African orphans goes to court
Last month, 19-year-old Matthew Durham was arrested after authorities in Kenya claimed he molested and raped orphans during a mission trip.
According to court records, officials claim Durham raped boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 9-years-old during a mission trip to a Kenyan orphanage.
On Friday, Durham went before a federal judge in Oklahoma City to decide whether there was enough evidence to proceed with a trial.
He is facing four charges involving illicit sex acts.
In court, prosecutors presented both written and video confessions related to the case.
According to court records, Durham confessed to raping several young girls, forcing at least one boy to perform oral sex on him and even making other children watch.
However, defense attorneys say those confessions were coerced.
They claim the orphanage withheld Durham’s food, passport and care for the children until he confessed.
“He was held for four days, I think, five days. They would not return his passport until he confessed and under those circumstances, it’s duress,” said Stephen Jones, Durham’s attorney.
Friday’s testimony also took a bizarre turn.
According to court testimony, prosecutors say that Durham told a missionary friend that he had a ‘demon’ inside him that was named ‘Luke’.
Prosecutors claim that Durham said that “Every night, Luke gets what Luke wants” and ‘Luke’ “wants me to stay here and do evil with him.”
Durham’s defense attorneys say that the orphanage made him say that he had Lucifer inside him before signing the confession.
They added the orphanage told him to call the demon ‘Luke.’
Durham will appear in court again on Monday for a detention hearing.
The U.S. Attorneys Office said they would not speak on the case outside of the courtroom.
Also, members of the missionary group would not comment on the allegations, saying they are waiting for the organization’s founder to arrive in the country later this month.
If he is convicted of the charges, Durham faces a possible life in prison sentence.
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