A High Court sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has sentenced a man identified as Sunday Oluwafemi to life imprisonment for defiling a nine-year-old girl.
The convict was arrested for committing the offence in Akure in 2019 with his wife’s niece living with the couple. And arraigned before Justice Yemi Fasanmi on one count of rape.
Oluwafemi committed the offence on 24th November 2019, contrary to Section 31 (1) of the Child’s Right Laws of Ondo State, 2012 and Sections 218 and 257 of the Criminal Code Law of Ondo State, 2006.
After a series of arguments in court proceedings, the Justice held that the prosecution had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Justice Yemi ruled, “The confessional statement of the defendant, with that of the medical doctor, showed without equivocation that the convict indeed committed the offence. The defendant has betrayed the trust of the victim’s and his brother in-law, who saw him as a good father and guardian.
“The evidence of the charge was corroborated as there were several penetrations in the vault of the victim’s vaginal. I, therefore, hold that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim severally. And the mandatory provision is that once a defendant is found guilty of rape, he is liable to life imprisonment.
“Based on the above reasoning and in strict adherence to the provisions of the law, I hereby sentence the defendant to life imprisonment.”
