CYRIACUS IZUEKWE
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo of the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja has convicted and sentenced a suspected 37-year old paedophile, Moses Joseph, for defiling a minor by inserting his finger into her private part in order to satisfy his sexual desires.
P.M.EXPRESS reports that Justice Taiwo sent Joseph to prison after she found him guilty of a two-count charge of defilement brought against him by the Lagos State Government.
The State had told the Court that the defendant on 17th September, 2021, about 11:00pm, indulged in an act of indecent treatment of the girl (names withheld) by putting his finger into her private part (vagina) and making her perform a sexual act.
The prosecution had claimed that the crime, which took place at 25, Kadiri Street, Alausa, Ikeja, violated Sections 135, 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
In her judgment on the case, which lasted for nine months, Justice Taiwo held that from the substantial evidence presented before the Court, she found the defendant guilty of a charge.
She held, “The substantial evidence is overwhelming, therefore, I find the defendant guilty of all counts”.
The defence counsel, Henry Obidinna, pleaded with the Court to temper justice with mercy by imposing a light sentence on his client.
Obidinna said that the defendant was a first-time offender, who had been cooperative since his arrest in September 2021 and he is now remorseful.
After listening to the allocutus, Justice Taiwo asked the convicted paedophile if he had anything to say to the Court and he pleaded for mercy.
She held, “I have listened to the allocutus for the defence and on the first count I sentence you to seven years imprisonment and on the second count, I sentence you to 30 years imprisonment”.
However, the Court ruled that the prison terms will run concurrently which means Joseph will spend 30 years in prison custody at Kirikiri town, Lagos, pending when he will finish his term in custody.