24-Yr-Old Baker Jailed For Life For Raping Neighbour’s 15-Yr-Old Daughter
Kemisola Oye
FOR defiling his neighbour’s 15-year-old girl, Justice Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court earlier today sentenced a 24-year-old baker, Adesina Farouk to life imprisonment.
The judge held that the prosecution proved the case against the defendant and therefore sentenced him accordingly.
While delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi held the convict was a pathological liar who tried to lie his way through the case as he said that the prosecutrix (survivor) was 18 years old and that they were in a relationship but evidence showered that she was born on 19 May 2005.
The judge held that there was consistency in the evidence of the survivor, 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.
The judge held that the medical report, the convict’s confessional statement where he claimed he and the prosecutrix were lovers, and as a result engaged in sexual activity with her and the testimony of the prosecutrix showed that the convict committed the offence.
According to the judge, the medical report showed blunt forceful penetration of the vagina and to the medical doctor, the prosecutrix looked very unhappy when she came for the medical examination.
“The prosecutrix testified that the defendant forcefully had sex with her when she went to deliver pure water for him in his house. 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 the back, rip off her pants and forcefully had sexual intercourse with her.”
The judge further referred to the testimony of the survivor that she started bleeding due to the force and the that defendant threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.
When she was cross-examined by the defence counsel, the prosecutrix replied, ‘If he did not force me, how did my pants get torn.”
The court rejected the defendant’s evidence that the prosecutrix was his girlfriend and that the sex was consensual.
The judge therefore held that the charge of defilement was a grave offence and sentenced Farouk to life imprisonment. He ordered that his name be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.
“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 effects on their mental health and overall well-being. In this case, the evidence presented before the court has established that on 29 November 2020, you had forceful sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old victim who was your neighbour.
“The medical evidence corroborates the violent nature of the act with the medical doctor noting the hymenial laceration and your action has not only violated the prosecutrix bodily integrity but also broke the trust that exists between neighbours living in the same compound.
“You took advantage of the prosecutrix’s vulnerability to satisfy your sexual desires with a complete disregard for her well-being. The impact of your crime on the victim and her family can not be overstated.
“The victim who should be focusing on her education and development, had 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 also had to bear the pain of seeing her daughter suffer and the frustration of seeking justice for her.”
Justice Oshodi therefore held that crime of that nature affected victims and the entirety of their family members and the community at large.
The judge held that the court must send a strong message that such animalistic and barbaric behaviour must not be tolerated in society.
“Those who engage in such act will face the full wrath 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 society.
“I have also considered that you continue to maintain that the sexual intercourse was consensual despite the clear evidence to the contrary 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.”
Justice Oshodi reiterated that the sentence implied the seriousness of the convict’s crime and the need for deterrence to other sexual predators.
The defence counsel, in his allocutus, had prayed for mercy and urged the court that the convict could still be useful to the society.
While the prosecution counsel, Ms Inumidun Solarin prayed the court to sentence the convict accordingly.
Solarin also urged the court that the full weight of the law be slammed on Farouk to serve as deterrent to others and his name be registered in the Sexual Offences Register as maintained by Lagos State government.
Eighteen-Eleven Media
