Man Jailed 14 Years For Sodomizing 13-Yr-Old Physically Impaired Boy
Kemisola Oye
JUSTICE Rahman Oshodi of a Lagos Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a man, Success Odigoma Ude to 14 years imprisonment for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old physically impaired child.
The judge held that the prosecution proved the case of sexual assault against the defendant beyond reasonable doubt.
The state had charged the convict on an allegation of sexual assault by penetration of a 13-year-old boy with hearing and speech impairment.
The state government said Ude sexually assaulted the 13 years old boy by penetrating his anus with his penis in the Ilufe area of Ojo, Lagos between May 2021 and August 2021.
The prosecution said his offence was contrary to the provision of Section 261 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap 17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge when he was arraigned on 17 February 2022 and the prosecution commenced trial.
During the trial, six witnesses testified, five for the prosecution and one for the defence. The defendant testified for himself and eight documents were tendered as exhibits which were marked A to I
However, Justice Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the testimonies of the boy, the Investigative Police Officer (IPO) and the medical doctor corroborate one another.
The boy had in his evidence told the court how he knew the defendant. He narrated that the defendant took him to a bar. He bought him a soft drink and meat.
He further testified that after they left the bar, the defendant took him to a nearby bush, a secluded place around Alaba Market wherein he showed him pornographic content on his phone and started licking his penis.
“The defendant sat down on a stone, and the defendant brought out a phone, and the defendant was showing me penis (what we were watching on the phone was nudity).
“When we finish playing the nudity film on the phone. The defendant told me to pull off my clothes, and the defendant started licking my penis. After he licked my penis, he tried putting his penis inside my anus, but he could not. Then he started licking the penis. So, I put on my trousers, and he told me that I should not inform anyone, I should not inform my mother that I should be going home. So, I went home.”
Also, Inspector Mary Obadeyan (PW3) was the IPO at the Ilemba Hausa Police Division, Ajangbadi. She explained how the boy’s mother reported the case to her division.
According to Inspector Obadeyan, “The boy used sign language to tell the DPO that the defendant used his penis through his anus that was how the DPO said, I should obtain their statements, and give the boy a medical request form to go to the hospital for medical examination. When the result was out, the DPO gave the directive to transfer the case to the Gender Unit.”
She explained her visit to the bar and the crime scene. She said, “I took the mother, and the victim to the place, and the Barman recognised the victim, and explained to me that there was a particular man that used to bring the boy here and buy him pepper soup, and other things.
“The victim also took me to one tree close to the bar, he said the defendant took him there one night and asked him to pull his clothes”. She also explained that the crime scene and the boy’s mother’s shop were in the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos.
Justice Oshodi held that Section 262 of the Criminal Law (supra) established the crime of an attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration that, “Any person who attempts to commit the offence of rape or sexual assault by penetration commits a felony and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for fourteen years.”
The court further held that the victim was a young boy of thirteen and could not consent to sexual activities.
“The medical evidence corroborates the boy’s account due to the abrasions around his anal wall.
“However, there was no tear or laceration. The penetration was not complete. Of course, the evidence establishes an attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration. The prosecution has established this crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Justice Oshodi held that having considered all the evidence presented in the case, the defendant was guilty as charged and therefore convicted him under Section 262 of Criminal Law.
He held that the defendant was initially charged with the offence of sexual assault by penetration under section 261, which attracts a life sentence, but he found that the evidence established an attempt rather than a complete offence.
“Section 262 prescribes a term of fourteen years imprisonment for an attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration. The facts of your offending are egregious. Your victim was a highly vulnerable thirteen-year-old child who suffered from hearing and speech impairments.
“You exploited his vulnerability, lured him to a secluded area, exposed him to pornography, and tried to penetrate his anus with your penis. When you could not achieve penetration, you proceeded to lick his penis.
“These predatory actions constitute a severe violation of a child who could not consent and was powerless to resist due to his disabilities. Most concerning is your lack of remorse or acceptance of responsibility.
“Rather than acknowledging the gravity of your offending, you concocted an implausible claim that one Edmund Okoye, who was not a witness and had no connection to this case, somehow set you up.
“This demonstrates a failure to grasp the gravity of your conduct and its traumatic impact on a defenceless child. Considering the seriousness of the offence, the victim’s extreme vulnerability, and your lack of remorse, I see no basis to depart from the starting point of fourteen years’ imprisonment prescribed by statute”.
Justice Oshodi therefore sentenced Ude to 14 years in prison. Ordered that his name be registered as a sex offender.
“The term is to run from the date of your remand, 1st September 2021. This sentence sends a clear message that sexual exploitation of society’s most vulnerable members, especially children with disabilities, will be met with condign punishment. I can only hope that during your period of incarceration, you will come to appreciate the enormity of the harm you inflicted on an innocent child for your perverse gratification.”
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