TheCable

A Lagos state domestic violence and sexual offences court, on Monday, sentenced one Blessing Okon, identified as a security guard, to life imprisonment for defiling a 14-year-old girl.

According to NAN, Abiola Soladoye, the presiding judge, said the victim testified that Okon had been harassing her sexually since the age of nine.

The judge also directed that the convict’s name should be added to the Lagos state sexual offenders’ register.

“This defendant is lacking in compassion. He had sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl. There was overwhelming evidence against him as presented by the prosecution. He, therefore, should pay for his sexual crime,” she said.

“The defendant is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment without an option of fine.

“He is to have his name registered in the sexual offenders’ register maintained by the Lagos state government.”

The judge also commended the chaplain of the victim’s school for taking up the case by contacting the teenager’s parents after she reported to him.

“The chaplain of the school in question had a listening ear, thereby allowing the victim to share her thoughts, worries, anxieties and frustration, which eventually led to the reporting of this case to the authorities,” Soladoye said.

“I salute the chaplain’s courage and candor for not sweeping this case under the carpet.

“I wish him all the best and I do hope sincerely that others in positions of power will be able to speak up in issues of sexual abuse and report them to the authorities.”

According to the prosecution, Okon committed the offence in September 2019 — he was 20 years old at the time — in the Ikoyi area of Lagos.