Justice Rahman Oshodi of the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja on Tuesday convicted and sentenced a 30-year-old barber, Rasaq Akinyemi, to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
Justice Oshodi jailed Akinyemi after he pleaded guilty to the amended two-count count charge of indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault brought against him by the state government.
The prosecutor, Olufunmilayo Aluko, had earlier arraigned the convict on a two-count charge of defilement and indecent treatment of a child, which he had pleaded not to following his arraignment on Nov. 27, 2021.
Aluko told the judge that the convict committed the offence on June 25, 2020, at 13 Shiaba Street, Agege, Lagos.
She claimed that the convict indecently treated the survivor by taking off her clothes and looking at her private parts.
The prosecutor maintained that the offences violate Sections 135 and 263 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015
At yesterday’s resumed hearing, Aluko informed the court on January 30 that the parties had entered a plea and sentence agreement.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi held that the offences which Akinyemi had entered a plea bargain agreement for were serious offences that had caused significant harm to the young survivor, who trusted him as a family member.
He, however, noted that the convict had expressed genuine remorse for his actions.
The court further held that it has carefully weighed all factors, including the severity of the offences, breach of trust, guilty plea, genuine remorse and concrete steps toward rehabilitation.
“I am persuaded to order that you serve 90 per cent of the agreed-upon ten-year sentence, which is nine years.
“Accordingly, I sentence you to seven years imprisonment on count one and two years on count two.
“The sentences shall run consecutively for nine years, computed from 26 June 2020, when you were first remanded in custody,” Oshodi said.
