A High Court sitting in the Ikeja area of Lagos State has sentenced a man, Richard Saviour, to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his wife’s niece and infecting her with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
The victim (name withheld) was aged 14.
Delivering judgement on the case on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, the presiding judge, Justice Oyindamola Ogala, held that the evidence provided by all the prosecution witnesses were corroborated and considered as the truth.
Justice Ogala said the evidence of the victim were corroborated by the Investigating Police Officer and social worker from the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Welfare.
The judge said: “The testimony before the court clearly depicts the evil perpetrated on this young girl and how she was abused both mentally and physically by the defendant and his wife for years.
“Revealing how she indeed cried out for help and was betrayed by those who were supposed to help and support her.
“It is imperative to state at this juncture that the actions of the principal of PW2’s school and the social worker (PW3) are commendable as same eventually brought some succour and relief to PW2, who unfortunately has been permanently scared.
“Having carefully considered the entirety of facts before the court, it finds that in this instance, the prosecution has satisfactorily proved the one count information the defendant stands faced with.”
Justice Ogala added the mien of the defendant was desperate to distance himself from the allegation by denying the offences.
The judge said when the police took the victim to the hospital, she was tested and found to be HIV positive.
She stated that the girl was later transferred to Mary’s Home Orphanage and looked after with the help of Positive Action for Treatment Access, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
Justice Ogala, therefore, convicted the defendant on the charge of defilement by unlawful sexual assault and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the correctional centre.
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