Police in Jinja City in Uganda's east have arrested a pastor accused of defiling a 16-year-old-girl, one of more than a dozen children reportedly found in his residence.

The suspect is 40-year-old Robert Masinga of Christ is the Answer Church, Police revealed.

Charles Twiine, the public relations officer of the Criminal Investigations Directorate, said that upon probing, the accused pastor was found with more than 30 children in his residence incommunicado.

The children are within the age bracket of 3 and 18 years.

Twiine said the Police are investigating the pastor for aggravated trafficking in persons under the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2009.

A person commits the offence of aggravated trafficking where the victim of trafficking is a child is undertaken for the purpose of exploitation. The victim may include one for adoption, guardianship, or fostering.

Typically, the offence is committed by a syndicate or on a large scale and attracts a penalty of spending life behind bars or death.

Under the law, the penalty for trafficking in children and taking their body parts for witchcraft or using them to commit crime is death.