A man, Victor Dickson has been sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his neighbour’s six-month-old child.
Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja found the convict guilty of a one count charge of sexual assault by penetration.
Delivering the verdict on Monday, the trial judge held that Lagos State Government had successfully proved the one-count charge of sexual assault by penetration against the convict.
Justice Oshodi held that the circumstantial evidence was compelling, clearly showing that the convict committed the offence, and that all attempts to distance himself from it failed.
Justice Oshodi said that the convict was not a witness of truth as his oral evidence in court was marked by notable divergence from his extra-judicial statement.
”In your extra judicial statement, you confirmed that you carried the child but never penetrated her vagina.
”However, in your oral evidence before this court, you denied ever carrying the child at all and alleged that the child’s mother was on a revenge mission because you turned down her sexual advance towards you,” the judge said.
According to the Justice Oshodi, the convict showed no remorse and instead fabricated a false accusation, alleging that the survivor’s mother made sexual advances towards him, which he declined.
The judge said: “The victim in this case is a six-month-old infant, among the most defenceless human beings in existence, and her mother testified before this court how you carried her naked child from the potty while she was washing clothes outside.”
”You betrayed the trust that the mother of the child had in you by picking up the naked baby from her potty, carried her into your room, closed your door and violated her.
”She cried throughout; she could not speak and she could not call for help.
”You have shown no remorse whatsoever. Rather than acknowledge what you did, you constructed a false story, designed to smear the reputation of the mother who went into the witness box, recounting the worst day of her life.
The court noted that the survivor was a vulnerable child of six months and there was need to protect the society and deter others from such animalistic conduct.
”I sentence you, Victor Dickson to life imprisonment.
”You shall serve the sentence at the maximum security custodial centre.
”You shall also be registered as a sexual offender under Section 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021,” Oshodi said.
During trial, the State Counsel, Ms Inumidun Solarin called three witnesses; mother of the survivor, father of the survivor and an investigative police officer, ASP Folashade Akinbowa while the convict testified in his own defence.
The prosecutor told the court that the convict committed the offence October 17, 2021 at about 10.40 a.m. at No. 72 Iba Road, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The prosecution submitted that the convict sexually assaulted the child by inserting his finger into her vagina.
According to the prosecution, the offence contravenes the provisions of Section 261 of the criminal laws of Lagos State, 2015
