The Suspect
The lead pastor of Mahanaim Christian Center in Ankaful, Cape Coast, Ebenezer Conduah, 45, has been apprehended by the police for defiling a 13-year-old church member under the pretext of spiritual counseling and behavioural correction.
The arrest took place in the early hours of March 6, 2026, where various items were recovered, including one HP laptop, three external hard drives, five pendrives, one Android mobile phone, one tablet, two electronic vibrators with accessories, assorted contraceptives (used and unused), lubricant, a used pregnancy test kit, and two ladies’ pants.
Also, forensic investigators uncovered evidence of the production of child sexual abuse materials, as well as three private pornographic website accounts stored on the suspect’s digital devices.
According to reports, the victim was allegedly lured to the pastor’s residence, where she was subjected to sexual abuse over an extended period. He also recorded videos of the abuse on his mobile phone.
The suspect, known as a trained gynecologist and international marriage counselor, in some instances, forced the victim to hold up materials displaying an adult pornographic website and to state on camera that she was accessible on that platform, with apparent intent to distribute such content online.
The victim, after confiding in her school headmistress, prompted an immediate response from the Ghana Police Service, Cyber Security Authority and the National Security, leading to the arrest of the pastor.
In a press briefing by the Director-General of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), COP Lydia Yaako Donkor said the suspect was previously charged with two counts at the Cape Coast Circuit Court: defilement of a female child under 16 years, per Section 101(2) of the Criminal Offenses Act, 1960 (Act 29); and child pornography, per Section 136(1)(c) of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).
COP Yaako Donkor further mentioned that the suspect was rearrested and put before a Circuit Court on March 8, 2026, for a new charge of possessing an indecent image or photograph of a child, violating Sections 62 and 63 of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (ACT 1038). He has been remanded into prison custody to reappear on March 27, 2026.
“This arrest underscores the commitments made at the highest levels of our institutions—the Ghana Police Service, the Cyber Security Authority and the National Security to ensure every child is safe and protected online,” she assured.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke