COURT JAILS MAN FOR LIFE OVER ASSAULT OF SIX-MONTH-OLD BABY IN LAGOS

By Aishat Momoh. O.

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja has sentenced Victor Dickson to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his neighbour’s six-month-old child.

Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that the Lagos State Government successfully proved the charge of sexual assault by penetration against the convict.

The judge ruled that the circumstantial evidence presented before the court was compelling and clearly established the guilt of the defendant, noting that his attempts to distance himself from the crime were inconsistent and unreliable.

Oshodi pointed out that Dickson’s oral testimony in court contradicted his earlier extra-judicial statement. While he had initially admitted carrying the child but denied penetration, he later denied ever handling the infant and alleged that the child’s mother fabricated the accusation out of revenge.

The court described the claim as false and an attempt to discredit the victim’s mother, adding that the convict showed no remorse throughout the trial.

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, carried her into your room, closed your door and violated 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 need to protect the 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 Section 33 and 38 of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Law, 2021,” Oshodi said.

The State Counsel, Ms Inumidun Solarin called three witnesses; mother of the survivor, father of the survivor and an investigative police officer, ASP Folashade Akinbowa while the convict testified as a sole witness for defence.

The prosecutor told the court that the convict committed the offence Oct. 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