The state had maintained that the offence violated Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
In her judgment, Justice Soladoye held that the testimony of the survivor corroborated the evidence of the investigative police officer and the medical reports.
The judge also held that the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses before her were coherent and unshakable and that there was no substantial contradiction to raise reasonable doubt in prosecuting the defendant.
The court stated, “I believe the testimony of the survivor in total as he eloquently and brilliantly told the court that the defendant had a condom on before he had sex with her.
“The survivor told the court that her aunt sent her to do some work for her at her farm where the defendant works and that the defendant sent her to fetch water. When she came back, she met the defendant drunk and he asked her if she wanted to have fun and he ended up having sex with her.
“She said it was the farm manager that reported the case to the survivor’s sister when she narrated her ordeal in the hands of the defendant.
“The evidence of the three prosecution witnesses has sufficient proof that the defendant had sexual intercourse with the survivor. The address of the defence, no matter how beautifully written, cannot amount to vindicating the charge of defilement that the defendant truly committed.
“The evidence before this court shows that the defendant forcefully had sex with the survivor as this is corroborated in the medical report that there were bruises in her vagina, which can be the result of the struggle between her and the defendant.
“This should serve as a deterrent to others as adults should not take undue advantage of young children and defile their purity. The defendant was busy telling lies before this court but the court is not fooled.
“The defendant is hereby found guilty as charged and hereby sentenced to life imprisonment.
“He should have his name written in the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register,” the court held.
Justice Soladoye also cautioned the survivor for being insensitive, adding that there was a need for sexual education, moral re-awakening and training of underage children to maintain sexual purity in society.
“Lessons to the young ones here is that it is not good not to run errands for elderly ones but the younger ones must be very careful not to fall prey in the hands of the sexual predators.
“The survivor, in this case, was insensitive as a 17-year-old girl ought to be proactive and run for her life when she saw a condom on the penis of the defendant.
“Instead, she waited until the defendant forcefully had his way and had sex with her.
“There is a need to educate our young children more on sexual education as defilement and sexual assault as we now have more people parading themselves as sexual predators in our society,” She said.
