The Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, has sentenced a 27-year-old final-year Mass Communication student, Wisdom Edem, to 35 years imprisonment for defiling a 10-year-old girl.
Justice Peace Otti delivered the judgment in Charge No. A/3C/2024, sentencing the convict to 25 years for defilement, five years for sexual abuse and exploitation, and another five years for causing physical injury to the victim. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The Anambra State Government had arraigned the defendant on a three-count charge under the Child’s Rights Law of Anambra State, 2004, and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law of Anambra State, 2017.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by Principal State Counsel, Mrs. Chinelo Akorah, presented six witnesses and tendered exhibits, including the defendant’s statement and a medical report.
The court heard that the defendant allegedly lured the victim to his residence under the guise of featuring her in a comedy skit before sending her younger sister on an errand and sexually assaulting the child.
In her judgment, Justice Otti dismissed the defendant’s claim that the child consented to the act, stressing that under Nigerian law, a child cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse.
The court held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt through the victim’s testimony, medical evidence and other exhibits presented during the trial.
As the defendant was absent when judgment was delivered, the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest and ordered that he be declared wanted. It also directed security agencies to circulate his photographs to facilitate his arrest.
The court further ordered the defendant’s university to withhold his certificate until he serves his prison term, directed him to pay ₦200,000 compensation to the victim, and ordered that his name be entered into the Anambra State Sex Offenders’ Register.
