An American missionary, Eric Tuininga has pleaded guilty to defiling a 14-year-old Ugandan girl who was under his care at the Orthodox Presbyterian church based in Mbale district, eastern Uganda.
A press release issued by the United States Department of Justice indicates that Tuininga, 44, pleaded guilty in a federal court in Macon, US to illicit sexual conduct yesterday Wednesday.
After his plea hearing, Tuininga was taken to jail and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 3. He faces up to 30 years in jail. He landed in trouble back in 2019 when a fellow US citizen working at the same church contacted the US Embassy in Kampala reporting that Tuininga was having sex with Ugandan girls as young as 14 years who were under the care of their church.
Authorities noted that when the case was reported, the US Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS) federal agents in Kampala opened an investigation into the allegations and subsequently identified the abused minor who was then aged 14 in May 2019 when Tuininga had sex with her.
After noting that Tuininga, then a suspect, had already returned to his home in the Middle District of Georgia, the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Child Exploitation Unit, Atlanta, continued with their investigations.
“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 US Attorney Peter D. Leary.
Adding, “The US Attorney’s Office, along with national and international law enforcement partners, will do everything in their power to catch child predators and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
After his expected jail term without parole in federal prison, the former missionary will also undergo a lifetime supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000.
In addition, Tuininga will also have to register as a sex offender upon being released from prison. Available information shows that Tuininga began his missionary work in Uganda in 2012 and was part of a five-family ministry team serving in Mbale and Karamoja.
More details obtained from Glenda Faye Mathes’ website indicate that Tuininga was mandated with training men for ministry at Knox Theological College (KTC), operated by the Orthodox Presbyterian Uganda Mission. Students come from a variety of ecclesiastical and tribal backgrounds in Uganda and Kenya.
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