Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent Efate, Shefa Province, Vanuatu · 2026

Vanuatu: pastor convicted by the Supreme Court of repeated indecency against two girls in his congregation

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

pastor

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

Binihi held pastoral authority in the community where the two child victims and their families were congregants; the sentencing court expressly identified 'a significant breach of trust' arising from his position as the aggravating basis for a custodial rather than suspended sentence.

Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2026-06-17 · sentencing

Supreme Court of Vanuatu. Justice Maree MacKenzie sentenced John Binihi, 28, a pastor, to two years and eleven months' imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to six charges of indecency with a young person involving two girls aged nine to eleven, offending that took place on Efate between 2023 and 2025. The judge found the offending serious given repeated conduct, two victims, and a significant breach of trust, and that this outweighed factors favoring a suspended sentence; the term was backdated to 2025-10-29 to account for time already served.

Documented coercion mechanisms

pastoral authority
access to children through congregation and community trust

Primary record

Sources

Sista News (Vanuatu), 'Man jailed for repeated indecent conduct involving two children' (June 2026).: Reports the Supreme Court of Vanuatu's sentencing of pastor John Binihi to two years and eleven months' imprisonment for six charges of indecency with a young person, the judge's finding of a significant breach of trust, and the backdating of the sentence to account for time in custody since 29 October 2025.
Vanuatu Daily Post, 'Man jailed for repeated indecent conduct involving two children' (June 2026).: Corroborating report of the same Supreme Court sentencing, confirming the defendant's role as pastor, the two child victims aged nine and eleven, and the offending period 2023-2025 on Efate.

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