The 42-year-old guard was sentenced after he was found guilty of defiling a minor as alleged by Lagos State government.
The prosecuting counsel, Mrs Olufunke Adegoke, told the court that the convict had unlawful sexual intercourse with the minor at about 11:30 a.m., on April 21, 2017, in the Aguda Surulere area of the state.
She said his offence contravened the provision of section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses, including the survivor.
In her judgment, Justice Soladoye, held that the prosecution was able to prove the offence of defilement against the convict without any reasonable doubt.
“The evidence of the child was also collaborated with her mother’s testimony and that of the doctor that examined her. What is crucial is for the child to be able to identify the defendant.
“The evidence of Prosecution Witness (PW) 2, confirmed that she saw the defendant when he messed up with her daughter’s virginity in 2017. The mother said she heard a commotion and when she went to check, she discovered that the defendant had raped her daughter.
“The victim’s mother said she took her daughter to the hospital where they confirmed that there was penetration and that she has been infected.”
The judge further held that the third prosecution witness, the medical Doctor, testified that there was a vaginal discharge, while the hymen was absent, and that there was an opening.
In his defence, Okon claimed that he didn’t know the girl and her mother. He alleged that he went to use the toilet in the compound when he saw a little girl in the stairway crying.
However, the judge held that there were three ingredients to prove the case of defilement of a child. She noted that the child must be underage and that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the child, and that the child can identify the defendant.
“When the survivor came before this court, she was seven years old, but she was four years old when she was defiled. She said she started shouting from the toilet. In law, a child cannot give consent to intercourse.”
She described how the defendant sexually molested her.
“The mother of this child should also be blamed for being parentally negligent, leaving her four-year-old daughter to be unattended to. This mother has herself to blame. Children are precious and should be treated with tender care,” the court held.
The judge, therefore, found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. “You are to have your name registered in the Lagos state sexual offenders register,” the judge declared.
