Man gets 14 years imprisonment for attempted sexual assault on minor
By Adenike Ayodele
An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Wednesday sentenced a man, Taofik Oladosu, to 14 years’ imprisonment for attempting to sexually assault a 12-year-old girl (name withheld).
Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted Oladosu following his plea bargain agreement.
Oladosu had pleaded guilty to an amended one-count charge of attempted sexual assault.
The court was satisfied that Oladosu understood the nature of the plea bargain agreement he had entered into.
It emphasised that the convict was initially charged with a more serious offence of defilement, which carried the prescribed punishment of life imprisonment under the Criminal Law.
The judge said: “However, through the plea bargain process, you have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempted sexual assault by penetration, under Section 262, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.
“I have considered your plea for mercy and I have also considered the prosecution’s submissions regarding the appropriate sentence.
“The plea bargain agreement, dated and filed on April 11, provides that you shall serve 14 years’ imprisonment from the date of your remand.
“Having considered all the circumstances of this case, including the seriousness of the offence, the impact upon the victim, your guilty plea, and the terms of the plea agreement, I find the agreed sentence appropriate and hereby adopt it.”
The court thereafter sentenced the convict to 14 years’ imprisonment and held that the sentencing should commence from Dec. 14, 2015, the day of his remand.
The court also held that the convict be registered as a sexual offender.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the convict had been initially arraigned before Justice Nwaka (now a justice of the Court of Appeal) on Feb. 5, 2018.
The convict was later re-arraigned before Oshodi on Sept. 16, 2021, and he also pleaded not guilty, which necessitated the prosecution to go into trial.
The prosecution, bearing the burden of proof pursuant to Section 135(1) of the Evidence Act 2011, called two witnesses: a medical doctor and an investigative police officer, through whom compelling documents were tendered as evidence against the convict.
The State Counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo, told the court that the convict committed the offence between September and December 2015 on Oyo Street in Mushin, Lagos.
Okeowo submitted that the convict attempted to sexually violate the survivor through non-consensual contact.
According to the prosecution, the offence contravenes Section 262 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. (NAN)
