The trial of head pastor Fostino Jacobs (60), accused of raping a 20-year-old woman, continues in the Mossel Bay Regional Court today.

Mossel Bay Advertiser reports the victim is expected to start her testimony in camera.

On the first day of trial yesterday, the court granted her permission to testify from inside the mediator’s room after the state informed the court that she did not want to face Jacobs while testifying.

A social worker testified that the victim suffers from panic attacks because of the ordeal and described her as shy.

Jacobs, from the Lighthouse Assembly of God church in Mossel Bay, has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of rape.

In cases of a sexual nature, the accused’s name may be published once they have pleaded.

Jacobs was arrested in October 2023 and released on bail.

Mossel Bay Advertiser contacted the church for comment but has not yet received a response.

The victim alleges that Jacobs raped her on several occasions in 2021, including inside the church in Mossel Bay.

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