A Magistrate court sitting in Port Harcourt has convicted and sentenced a forty-year-old Ifeanyi Ezeji to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine for defiling his 12-year- old house help.
The court convicted Ezeji on one count charge bothering on unlawful sexual abuse of the victim at his residence somewhere around Eastern By-Pass in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State sometime in February, 2019.
Chief Magistrate, Felicitas Amanze, in her judgment, said the convict is guilty of the offence, punishable under section 32 of the Child Right Act of the state.
Chief Magistrate Amanze described the action of the defendant as an act of wickedness, particularly for lying to the court that the victim who is a minor had interest in him before having carnal knowledge of her.
The Court further ruled that the evidences tendered before the court such as the victims medical report, the confessional statement made by the convict to the police, the one hundred and fifty thousand naira offered to the victim’s parent as out of court settlement showed that the defendant truly committed the crime and thereby sentenced him accordingly.
Speaking to newsmen outside the courtroom, Counsel to the defendant, Lucy Effiong welcomed the judgment saying ‘I want to thank God for the wisdom of the judge that looked into the matter and was able to fish out the truth”.
“When the matter went into defense we were unable to bring any evidence to show that this particular offence was not committed. The defendant being sentenced to seven years imprisonment, the judge I feel is even very good to the defendant”.
On her part, the lawyer who represented the International Federation of Female Lawyers in Rivers State, Esther Achor-Korienta while welcoming the judgment warned against “monetary settlement” of matters relating to child defilement and rape, describing it as “absurd”.
She further encouraged victims of rape and defilement to always speak out as according to her, the “culture of silence is over”.
