A Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos has sentenced a 47-year-old man, Victor Dickson, to life imprisonment for raping his neighbour’s six month – old baby( F) (names withheld).
Justice Rahman Oshodi convicted and sentenced him on a one-count charge of sexual assault by penetration.
The charge reads:”Victor Dickson on or about the 17th day of October, 2021 at about 10:40 hours at Iba road, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos in Ikeja Judicial Division sexually assaulted one (names withheld) (F) aged six (6) months by inserting your finger into her vagina.
This offence is contrary to section 261 of the Criminal Law, Ch 17, vol. 3, laws of Lagos State 2015.
However, Dickson had pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The convict was a neighbour of the survivor’s mother in a “face me, I face you” apartment. His door was directly opposite hers. The mother of the infant who testified as prosecution witness 1 ( PW1) said that on that Sunday the incident happened, she was washing clothes and cooking at their veranda while her baby was sitting in a potty naked when the defendant came out of his room and they exchanged greetings. Then he spread his hands out to the baby and carried her to his room. After about 30 minutes, she heard the baby crying seriously, then she went to knock at the defendant’s door three times but he wasn’t responding until the fourth time before he opened the door. She took her baby from him and on getting to her room, the baby was groaning in pain. When she checked her baby’s body, she saw some blood stains on her thigh and vagina. She went to a nearby nurse who confirmed that the baby had been tampered with. She and her husband reported to Apodo police station and they directed them to Apodo general hospital.
The Prosecution presented only three witnesses and tendered exhibits 1- 4 in the trial.
Justice Oshodi in his judgement held that the defendant’s testimony in court was marked by multiple divergences from his extra-judicial statement.
He said, “Exhibit 4 revealed (medical report) penetration of the infant, it collaborated with the testimony of the prosecution witnesses”.
“The victim of this case is a 6-month-old, she is among the least defenceless human beings, you picked up a naked, helpless infant, carried her into your room, closed your door and violated her. She could not speak, she could only cry,” he added.
