Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of an Ikeja Special Offences Court on Thursday slammed 37 years jail term on Moses Joseph for defiling a minor.
Justice Taiwo, in her judgement, held that from the evidence presented before her, she found the defendant guilty of the crime.
The judge, after listening to the allocutus of the defence counsel, asked the defendant if he had anything to say to the court and in response pleaded for mercy.
“The substantial pieces of evidence are overwhelming, therefore, I find the defendant guilty of all counts.
“I have listened to the allocutus for the defence and on the first count I sentence you to seven years imprisonment and on the second count, I sentence you to 30 years imprisonment which will run concurrently, the judge ruled.
Meanwhile, in an earlier allocutus, the defence counsel, Henry Obidinna pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy and for a light sentence, as the defendant was a first-time offender, who had been corporative since his arrest in September 2021 and has been remorseful.
The defence counsel said the convict was the breadwinner of his family and his younger brother died from shock when he heard of the defendant’s arrest, adding that the event had been kept away from his aged mother.
The Lagos State, which prosecuted the case, welcomed the judgement.
Lagos State government had alleged that the defendant, on 17 September 2021, at about 11:00 p.m, indecently treated a minor by putting his finger in her vagina.
It said that the crime took place at 25, Kadiri St., Alausa, Ikeja, in contravention of Sections 135, 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.