The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced Saviour Udoh, a 27-year-old cleaner, to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl on church premises.
Justice Ramon Oshodi determined that the prosecution was competent to prove the offence of defilement against the convict beyond a reasonable doubt, adding that the defendant’s actions were repugnant and deserved the highest punishment under the law.
On February 5, 2020, Udoh was charged to court with sexual assault by penetration, which the state preferred against him. He pleaded not guilty.
According to the prosecution counsel, I.D. Solarin, Udoh’s offence violated Section 261 of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.
The court heard that the incident occurred on December 12, 2018, on the grounds of a well-known Pentecostal church in Ikeja, Lagos.
Udoh, who also worked as a housekeeper at the church, approached a sleeping child in the children’s section and sexually abused her.
The victim’s mother reported the crime to the authorities, prompting Udoh’s arrest. Justice Oshodi ruled that the crime committed was grave.
He said, “The court has carefully considered the evidence presented during the trial, including the confessional statement, the testimony of the victim, her mother, the IPO, and the medical evidence.
“The crime he has committed is a grave one as it involves sexual exploitation of a vulnerable child.”
According to the judge, the child is still suffering from the effects of the sexual assault committed by the convict.
He said, “The impact of your action on the victim and her family cannot be overstated. In her testimony, the victim’s mother stated that she was still taking the victim to the hospital three years after the incident and that the victim was still having discharges.
This statement emphasised the long-lasting physical and emotional trauma inflicted on the child.
“The victim, who was only five years old at the time of the incident, trusted you, and her mother entrusted her to your care. You breached that trust, most disgustingly, by sexually assaulting the child.
“Sexual assault by penetration is a serious offence that attracts a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment under Section 261 of the Criminal Law,” he stated.
