- Tomi Arayomi, founder of RIG Nation and Pioneer Church in the UK, has disclosed his traumatic childhood sexual abuse experience.
- Arayomi shared his profound trauma at the age of five, which significantly impacted his life and identity in an interview with Sharon Stone.
- Born with rickets, a leg disease, he faced physical and emotional challenges that made him immobile.
Tomi Arayomi, the founder of RIG Nation and Pioneer Church in the United Kingdom, has bravely shared his harrowing experience of childhood sexual abuse.
In a conversation with Sharon Stone, Arayomi detailed the trauma he suffered at the tender age of five, which significantly influenced his life and sense of self.
He explained that his struggles began with physical and emotional difficulties stemming from rickets, a condition that rendered him unable to walk.
The cleric recounted the additional suffering he endured when a family acquaintance “sexually molested me.” He noted that this abuse was shrouded in threats and secrecy. Years later, he experienced a resurgence of his trauma upon hearing a BBC news report that mentioned homosexuality.
Arayomi expressed that, unfamiliar with the term, he inquired about its meaning from his mother, but her response left him deeply affected.
“My journey was, I was born with rickets. I had a leg disease that made me fairly immobile. And there was a sexual exploitation that took place when I was five,” he said.
“A friend of the family, who at times took care of us, would sexually molest me. And I didn’t know what he was doing at that age, because I wasn’t in any way awakened sexually.”
“This is our little secret. And it came with shame. And I knew when my parents left us with them, they didn’t know what was going on, of course, that the abuse was going to continue.
“And it wasn’t until one day, I was watching news, some BBC news, when homosexuality was a taboo. I didn’t know the term homosexuality. That was in the early 90s.
“I said, Mom, what happens to homosexuals? She laughed, and she said, ‘oh, they go to hell’. Now I’m going to hell.”
Arayomi recounted a significant incident in which he confronted his abuser. He described a moment in the bathroom where, feeling trapped, he resisted the abuser’s demands, forcefully pushed him into the bathtub, and fled the scene, uncertain of the consequences that would follow.
“And I remember my last encounter with that man. My parents had left the house again. We were in the house by ourselves,” he added.
“And he cornered me in the bathroom and told me basically to pull my trousers down. And I remember I just said no to him for the first time. He said, ‘what did you say?’ I said no.
“And I pushed him into the bathtub. And I ran down the street crying my heart out because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. I didn’t even know where I was running to.”
The cleric recounted his early exposure to pornography at the hands of a school teacher, an experience that led to an enduring addiction, persisting even after his spiritual rebirth.
As he matured, he faced challenges related to his identity, wrestling with the lingering effects of the abuse he endured.
Arayomi expressed that the burden of living a “double life” significantly impacted his mental and emotional health. He ultimately confided in his parents about the abuse when he was approximately 17 years old.
“And I got introduced to pornography by my schoolteacher. And all of a sudden, what became a remedy for a diagnosis from BBC all of a sudden became an addiction,” he added.“
“That once I was saved, the addiction didn’t go away. It just got suppressed. And the secrets were suppressed. I never told my parents what happened to me until they rededicated their life to the Lord, when I told them when I was about 17, 18 years old.”
“But I didn’t tell them for years. I didn’t tell my twin brother. I just carried the secret.”
Through his platform, Arayomi seeks to provide hope and healing to those who carry the burden of unvoiced trauma.
“That is not unique to you. So many people go through that. And I would like to hope that maybe before we’re done today you could even pray for others,” he said.
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