Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Lagos State Special Offences Court has sentenced a 23-year-old man, Blessing Okon, to life imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl.
The prosecutor, while arraigning Okon before the court, said he committed the offence on September 13, 2019, on Ribadu Road, off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State.
During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses — the victim, her father and a medical doctor. Okon testified solely in his defence.
The victim, during her evidence, told the court that the convict sexually assaulted her when she was nine years old by touching her breasts on two occasions.
She added that he defiled her when she was 14 years old by dragging her to the staircase of her home and having unlawful sexual intercourse with her.
Delivering her judgment, Justice Soladoye, who noted that the victim was consistent in her evidence before the court which established that the defendant had been having sexual contact with her since she was nine years old, described the convict as shameless.
She said, “This defendant is lacking in compassion; he had sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl. There was overwhelming evidence against him as presented by the prosecution. He therefore should pay for his sexual crime.
“He is guilty of Section 137 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State and is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment without an option of fine. His name is to be entered into the register of sexual offenders in Lagos State.”
Justice Soladoye commended the chaplain of the victim’s school who reported the incident for listening to the teenager’s complaints and reporting the case to the authorities without any cover-up.
She urged heads of other schools to do the same.
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