That rapist costumier

DESPITE vigorous campaigns by the government, civil society organisations and other stakeholders  against the pervasive menace of s3xual assault in the society, there seems to be no end in sight to rape and pedophilia, as another irresponsible and undisciplined adult has been fingered in the violation of a minor. Nollywood costume designer and actor, one Prince Onyewere, was arrested recently for allegedly defiling a 10-year-old girl on a movie set in Asaba, the Delta State capital. The incident occurred on Sunday, January 28 at the hotel where Prince and his fellow crew members had lodged for a movie shoot. In other words, the alleged rape happened in the line of duty for both the offender and the victim. Prince had reportedly taken the minor into one of the hotel rooms to change her outfit for the next scene. However, they took longer than expected, prompting the movie producer to send someone to check on them. When the person arrived, the door was locked and the girl could be heard crying. The door had to be forcefully opened and the little girl was found crying profusely with bloodstains all over the floor, creating suspicion that the costume designer had raped the girl after asking her to strip for a costume change. The alleged offender was stripped naked by furious eyewitnesses, interrogated and handed over to men of the Delta State Police Command for prosecution.

The incident which would appear to be a lucid case of pedophilia is also associated with gross professional misconduct as both the victim and the alleged violator belong to the movie industry. And this is both surprising and saddening because the make-believe industry is designed to entertain, educate, inform, sway or persuade people to tread the path of moral rectitude but a practitioner in the industry is being accused of one of the vilest offences and base conduct that exemplifies moral decadence in the society. Movie producers need to clean up their act:  why should a man be allowed to change a minor’s dress? Even fathers are not expected to change dresses for their daughters who are age ten and above, let alone a stranger who has now turned out to be a sexual predator. It is imperative that parents who allow their little children to go into show business should act as their chaperone. That is one way to protect their children and wards from undisciplined individuals that show business is reputed to be suffused with. Leaving minors to their own devices or at the mercy of pedophiles prowling all over the place can be quite dangerous as proven in the instant case.

There have also been cases where minors are even being made to act inappropriate roles. This should stop. Exposure of children to adult roles that entail sexual activities is very wrong and constitutes child abuse which is an offence against the state. Parents, movie producers and other major stakeholders in the industry should always look beyond pecuniary gains whenever they cast children for roles. There should be consideration for the future of the children by the adults to ensure that they are not poorly treated, violated or exposed to situations and circumstances that could make them to grow up to become damaged adults. For instance, notwithstanding that the costumier chose to tread the path of perfidy, the producer should have protected the minor by ensuring that a male adult was not permitted to change her dress without the presence of another adult. In a sense, the producer is precariously liable as his duty of care fell short of the required standard.

As it stands, a minor has been violated and there should be severe sanctions. In addition to bringing the suspect to book under the appropriate law, it is hoped that the union he belongs to within the Nollywood industry has self-regulatory mechanisms to bring this erring member to book. The issue of sanctions against offenders of s3xual assault has constantly led to an interrogation of the seeming ineffectiveness of deterrence in reining in the incidence of rape.  Indeed, many have called for a review of the sanctions grid on sexual assault in order to make it more potent and effective at curbing sexual offences but the truth is that there is nothing wrong with the extant laws. Section 358 of the Criminal Code Act provides that “Any person who commits the offence of rape is liable to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.” Section 283 of the Penal Code Act 1960; “Whoever commits rape shall be punished with imprisonment for life or for any less term and shall also be liable to fine.”

The provisions of the prevailing laws against rape, if fully applied, are sufficient to serve as deterrence to would-be sexual offenders. However, there have been instances where judges meted out punishments that amounted to a slap on the wrist on s3xual assault offenders, especially pedophiles and rapists. Thus, the veritable issue is partly down to the interpretation of the extant laws.  Until recently when some judges handed life sentences to some rapists, many did not know that the offence of rape actually attracts a life sentence under the penal code applicable in the North or the criminal code that is in force in the South. Perhaps if judges continue to reach verdicts that mete out full sanction on rapists, the menace of s3xual assault will decline.

Truth be told, the recent hike in cases of sexual assault that tends to suggest that the government and other stakeholders are at their wit’s end is unnerving and it would require a combination of deterrence and relentless campaign against the menace to rein it in.