Ondo Court sentences man to life imprisonment for raping a minor

An Akure High Court has sentenced a welder, Seun Ayeni, to life imprisonment for raping a 13- year- old girl.

In his ruling, Justice Samuel Bola held that all the facts before the court confirmed that the convict forcefully had carnal knowledge of the teenager who lived in the same house with him.

The court, which found the accused guilty and convicted him, said that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the accused person.

Ayeni was arrested and dragged before the court on March 28, 2017, for having forceful carnal knowledge of his neighbour’s daughter.

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The guardian of the victim,  Veronica Adegboye, during the trial testified before the court that the convict was her neighbor, who lived in the same building with them.

She told the court that the convict lured the victim into his room while coming from bathroom, under the pretext of sending her on an errand, but said Ayeni pounced on the minor, raping her in the process.

She explained that the victim raised the alarm after she saw blood coming out of her private part and reported to her before she reported the incident at the police station.

Testifying before the court, the victim, said “on the fateful day, the convict locked me inside his room after buying the sachet water he sent me to buy.

“He tore off my underwear and removed his own boxer shorts, and gagged by covering my mouth on the chair while I struggled to resist him. He also increased the volume of his radio set so that nobody will hear my voice.”

The mother of the convict, however, said Ayeni took to his heels after the act but was apprehended by some neighbours who dragged him to the police station after three days.

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The Police witness, Loretta Ebuka, told the court that a private photographer was invited and took the photograph of the victim, while she said the medical examination on the victim showed her hymen had been broken.

She said the medical examination conducted on the victim by one Dr. Martins Adesida, (now deceased) revealed that there was a laceration of about two centimeters long in the victim’s vagina which was stained signaling that there had been penetration.

In his defense, the convict, being the only witness, stated that the victim’s mother decided to implicate him because she was owing to him some money and denied raping the girl.

But Justice Bola declared him guilty as charged and sentenced him life imprisonment.