The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a former teacher, Nwatu Isaac, to life imprisonment for defiling an eight-year-old girl at El-Bossaa Nursery and Primary School, Epe.
Justice Rahman Oshodi, in his judgment, also ordered that Isaac’s name be entered in the Sex Offenders Register in accordance with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law.
The court found that the teacher had sexual intercourse with the child in the school’s male toilet on March 10, 2022.
The prosecution’s case was that Mr Isaac, who had previously taught the girl and later conveyed pupils from the school on his motorcycle, asked her to fetch a piece of paper from the toilet before pushing her inside, locking the door and sexually assaulting her.
The court heard that the child subsequently told her father what had happened when she returned home.
Her mother, who examined her that evening, testified that she saw blood on the girl’s pants and vagina and that the child’s school uniform was dirty.
A medical examination conducted later at the Mirabel Centre found an easily dilatable introitus, an absent hymen and marked laxity of the anal sphincter.
The examining doctor, Dr Olatunji Olubukola Elizabeth, testified that the vaginal findings were consistent with penile penetration.
Although the examination was conducted more than two months after the alleged incident, the court held that the medical evidence corroborated the child’s account of penetration.
The judge also found that the defendant’s own evidence placed him at the school at the material time.
Mr Isaac had denied entering the school, maintaining that he remained at the gate to collect pupils.
But Justice Oshodi held that his position did not amount to an alibi because he admitted being at the school when the alleged offence occurred.
The court further rejected the defence evidence concerning the size and configuration of the toilet, the alleged recantation by the child, and the suggestion that another person could have abused her.
Justice Oshodi found the child’s testimony clear, detailed and consistent, and held that her evidence had been sufficiently corroborated by other material evidence, including her mother’s testimony, the medical findings, her immediate complaint and evidence placing the defendant at the school.
The court consequently held that the prosecution had proved all the ingredients of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.
Mr Isaac was convicted under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
At the sentencing hearing, the convict pleaded for leniency.
Justice Oshodi, however, noted the gravity of the offence and the trust the child had placed in Isaac as her former teacher.
The judge held that Isaac had betrayed that trust by using his relationship with the child to lure her into the toilet.
The court also noted that the offence occurred within the premises of a school where parents expected their children to be safe.
Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State provides for life imprisonment for unlawful sexual intercourse with a child.
Justice Oshodi consequently sentenced Isaac to life imprisonment.
The court also directed the prosecution to take immediate steps under the Victim Assistance and Witness Protection Law, 2022, following a complaint by the victim’s mother that she and the child had allegedly continued to face intimidation from staff of the school.
The judge expressly stated that no finding was being made on that complaint.
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