An Ekiti State High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti has sentenced a 20-year-old man, Olarewaju Seun, to 30 months imprisonment for raping a three-year-old girl.
The convict was arraigned before the court on June 6, 2022, on a one-count charge of rape.
The charge read, “That Olarewaju Seun, on 6th August, 2021 at Ado Ekiti within the jurisdiction of this court did rape a three-year-old girl, contrary to Section 31(1) of Child Right Law, Cap C7, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
The mother of the victim had in her evidence before the court said that her daughter did not allow her to wash her private parts when she was bathing her adding that “when I checked, I saw it red and swollen, I was so scared. When I asked what happened to her bum bum, she repeatedly said, ‘It was Seun’.”
The woman said when she got the full picture of what happened to her daughter, she reported the matter to the police who later took over the matter.
The prosecutor, Kunle-Shina Adeyemo, called three witnesses and tendered the defendant’s statement, pictures of the victim and defendant, medical report among others as exhibits.
The defendant, who spoke through his counsel, Ekene Luke, prayed the court to temper justice with mercy and called four witnesses.
Delivering his judgment on Thursday, Justice Familoni said, “I believe the defendant as a young person deserves a second chance to redeem himself and be a good citizen. He cannot do that if I sentence him to life imprisonment.
“Therefore, I am inclined to temper justice with mercy to afford him an opportunity of redemption.
Therefore, the defendant, Olarewaju Seun, is sentenced to 30 calendar months’ imprisonment without an option of fine. The sentence is to run effectively from September 20, 2021 when he was rearrested by the police and kept in detention.”
