A religious leader and self-acclaimed “prophet” told a woman that God “showed him” she would die if she refused to abort his unborn child, according to a Toronto judge’s reasons for rejecting his request to conceal his identity in a paternity case.Last week, Ontario Superior Court Justice Fred Myers dismissed pastor Martin Kofi Danso’s request to shield details of his paternity lawsuit against his former lover, Chris-Ann Bartley, a member of his church. He said reasons would follow and they did Friday in a 13-page decision.“Ms. Bartley’s evidence is that when she approached Mr. Danso to tell him that she was pregnant, he asked her to have an abortion. When she declined, she claims that he told her that “the Lord showed him if I have the child I would die,” Myers wrote in his ruling.Danso is a married father of four. His wife, Rev. JoAnne Danso who helps operate his Miracle Arena for All Nations church chain, is pregnant with twins.Last month, Danso commenced a lawsuit against Bartley asking for a paternity test but also a publication ban on the proceedings. Justice Jasmine Akbarali ordered the test and agreed to Danso’s request for a temporary order under the Children’s Law Reform Act to seal the court file and ban publication of details of the case.She accepted Danso’s evidence that he stood to lose much if Bartley’s claim was publicly disclosed.“If in fact his evidence that he was never intimate with the respondent is true, these losses would not be the natural consequences of his actions, but rather, an unfair and devastating injustice,” Akbarali wrote.The nub of his argument seeking a publicity ban was that he is a prominent figure and would incur significant financial loss if he was the subject of a false allegation of paternity.“I did not have sexual relations with the respondent,” Danso wrote in a July 10, 2018 affidavit filed in court. He swore Bar ...
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