An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced a man, Victor Dickson, to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his neighbour’s six-month-old child.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the Lagos State Government had successfully proved the one-count charge of sexual assault by penetration against the convict.

Mr Oshodi held that the circumstantial evidence was compelling, clearly showing that the convict committed the offence and that all attempts to distance himself from it failed.

He said that the convict was not a witness of truth, as his oral evidence in court was marked by notable divergence from his extrajudicial statement.

“In your extrajudicial statement, you confirmed that you carried the child but never penetrated her vagina. However, in your oral evidence before this court, you denied ever carrying the child at all and alleged that the child’s mother was on a revenge mission because you turned down her sexual advance towards you,” the judge said.

According to the judge, the convict showed no remorse and instead fabricated a false accusation, alleging that the survivor’s mother made sexual advances towards him, which he declined.

He said, “The victim in this case is a six-month-old infant, among the most defenceless human beings in existence, and her mother testified before this court how you carried her naked child from the potty while she was washing clothes outside.

“You betrayed the trust that the mother of the child had in you by picking up the naked baby from her potty, carrying her into your room, closing your door and violating her.

“She cried throughout; she could not speak, and she could not call for help. You have shown no remorse whatsoever. Rather than acknowledge what you did, you constructed a false story, designed to smear the reputation of the mother who went into the witness box, recounting the worst day of her life.”

The court added that the survivor was a vulnerable child of six months, and there was a need to protect society and deter others from such animalistic conduct.

“I sentence you, Victor Dickson, to life imprisonment. You shall serve the sentence at the maximum security custodial centre. You shall also be registered as a sexual offender under Sections 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021,” Mr Oshodi said.

The state counsel, Inumidun Solarin, called three witnesses: the mother of the survivor, the father of the survivor and an investigative police officer, Folashade Akinbowa, while the convict testified as a sole witness for the defence.

The prosecutor told the court that the convict committed the offence on October 17, 2021, at about 10:40 a.m. at No. 72 Iba Road, Ibeji Lekki, Lagos.

The prosecution submitted that the convict sexually assaulted the child by inserting his finger into her vagina.

According to the prosecution, the offence contravenes the provisions of Section 261 of the criminal laws of Lagos State, 2015. 

(NAN)