The Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja has sentenced a 24-year-old baker, Adesina Farouk, to life imprisonment for raping his neighbour’s 15-year-old daughter.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the judge, Rahman Oshodi, on Monday, held that the prosecution proved the sole charge of defilement against Farouk.
Mr. Oshodi said there was consistent evidence that the convict forcefully had sexual intercourse with the survivor (prosecutrix) which was not consensual as the convict ripped off her pants and there was blood everywhere.
According to him, the convict is a pathological liar who tried to lie his way through the case as he said that the survivor was 18 years and that they were in a relationship, but evidence showed that she was born on 19 May 2005. This implies that she was 15 as of November 2020 when the rape took place.
The udge said that the medical report, the convict’s confessional statement that he and the survivor were lovers, and as a result he had sex with her, and the testimony of the victim showed that the convict committed the offence.
He said that the medical report showed blunt forceful penetration of the vagina.
The judge added that the medical doctor said the victim looked very unhappy when she came for the medical examination.
The judge said the victim “testified that the defendant forcefully had sex with her when she went to deliver pure water for him in his house.”
He said further in his judgement, “She said when she got to the front of the house and knocked, he did not reply which made her enter the house to drop the water only for the defendant to grab her neck from back, ripped off her pants and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her.
“She said she started bleeding due to the force and the defendant threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.”
During cross-examination when the defence counsel put it to the survivor that the sex was consensual, “she replied ‘f he did not force me, how did my pants got torn.’”
Grave offence with indelible scars
The court rejected the defendant’s evidence that the survivor was his girlfriend and that the sex was consensual.
The judge held that the charge of defilement was a grave offence and he thereby sentenced Mr Farouk to life imprisonment and his name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
Mr Oshodi said: “Mr Adesina Farouk, you have been found guilty of defilement under Section 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State and the offence is a grave crime that involves taking advantage of a child’s vulnerability and innocence for selfish sexual gratification.
“It is an offence that leaves its scars on its victims, both physically and emotionally and can have long lasting effect on their mental health and overall well-being.
“In this case, the evidence presented before the court has established that on 29 November 2020 that you had forceful sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old victim, who was your neighbour.
“The medical evidence corroborate the violence nature of the act with medical doctor noting the hymenial laceration and your action has not only violated the prosecutrix bodily integrity, but also breaks the trust that exists between neighbour’s living in the same compound.”
He said the convict took advantage of the survivor’s vulnerability to satisfy his sexual desires with a complete disregard for her well-being.
“The impact of your crime on the victim and her family cannot be overstated.
“The victim who should be focusing on her education and development had her life irrevocably altered by your action.
“She had to endure the trauma of the outcome of your action as well as the subsequent medical examination, police interviews and court proceedings.
“Her mother had to bear the pain of seeing her daughter suffer and the frustration of seeking justice for her,” he said.
Mr Oshodi held that crime of that nature affected victims and their families entirely and the community at large.
Strong signal
He said the court must send a strong message that such animalistic and barbaric behaviour must not be tolerated in the society.
“Those who engage in such act will face full force of the law.
“In determining your sentence, I have considered plea for mercy against the gravity of your offence, the impact on the victim and her family, the breach of trust and the need to protect vulnerable members of the society.
“I have also considered that you continued to maintain that the sexual intercourse was consensual in spite of the clear evidence and the legal position that a child cannot consent to any sexual activities.
“Section 137 Supra prescribes a life imprisonment for the crime you have committed and accordingly, I sentence you to life imprisonment,” he said.
Mr Oshodi reiterated that the sentence implied the seriousness of the crime and the need for deterrence to other sexual perpetrators.
The defence counsel, in his allocutus, had prayed for mercy and urged the court that the convict could still be useful to the society.
The state counsel, Inumidun Solarin, however, prayed the court to sentence the convict accordingly.
Ms Solarin also urged the court that the full weight of law be applied on Mr Farouk to serve as deterrent to others.
She added that his name be registered in the Sexual Offences Register as maintained by the Lagos State Government.
NAN reports that the prosecution called four witnesses during trial through whom various exhibits were tendered, while the convict testified as a sole witness.
The prosecutor submitted that the convict committed the offence on 29 December 2020, on Sultan Bello Street, Owutu, Ikorodu.
(NAN)