An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday, sentenced a man, Nnanna Daniel, to 14-year imprisonment for attempted sexual assault on a minor.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, sentenced Daniel to 14 years imprisonment, following his plea bargain agreement to the amended one-count charge of attempted assault by penetration.

The judge said that the jail term took effect from May 18, 2018, the date of Daniel’s remand

Recall that on arraignment, the convict was initially charged with defilement of a minor during a religious programme on May 10, 2018, at Arowojolu Street, Ilaje Village, Ebute-Metta in Lagos.

During trial, the survivor testified that Daniel forcefully defiled her, while the prosecution tendered four exhibits, including the convict’s confessional statements and a three-page medical report.

On April 15, the State Counsel, Inumidun Solarin, told the court that the parties had entered a plea, and a sentence agreement dated April 9 with the consent of the defence counsel, Scholastica Nwogu.

The convict was thereafter re-arraigned on a one-count charge of attempted sexual assault by penetration, to which he pleaded guilty.

In his judgment, Mr Oshodi, said that he took cognizance of the circumstances of the case, the remarks by both counsels, and the demonstration of remorse by the convict.

He said: “Sexual offences against children represent a grave violation of trust, and cause profound harm to victims, their families, and the wider community. The victim in this case was a child of merely 13 years at the time of this incident, a young person entitled to protection, not exploitation.’’

He further said that the court acknowledged Daniel’s eventual acceptance of responsibility through his guilty plea which had spared the victim the trauma of further court proceedings.

He ordered that the convict’s name should be registered as a sex offender, and his details written in the Lagos State Government’s Sex Offenders Register.

(NAN)