An Ikeja Special Offences Court has sentenced a 31-year-old teacher identified as Idowu Daniel to seven years imprisonment for assaulting his 16-year-old student.
Ruling on the case, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo said the prosecution failed to establish the charge of child defilement against the defendant.
This was however because the survivor failed to show up in court during proceedings to testify.
Justice Taiwo who noted that the confessional statement by the defendant, which was made voluntarily, showed that he s3xually assaulted the minor, added that the defendant admitted to fondling the bre*st of the victim twice and attempted to have s3x with her but he could not have a penetration because she was a virgin.
Justice Taiwo held that the prosecution failed to establish the charge of defilement against the convict, as the victim failed to show up in court to testify.
She said the confessional statement by the defendant, which was made voluntarily, showed that he sexually assaulted the minor.
“The defendant admitted to have fondled the breast of the victim twice and tried to have sex with her but he could not penetrate as she was a virgin.
“The defendant is hereby convicted on the charge of s3xual assault of a child,” she held.
In his allocutous the convict pleaded for mercy when he was asked if he had anything to say.
“My lord, I am very sorry for what happened. I promise it will not happen again,” the convict told the court.
The judge also lashed out at the convict for touching the survivor in a suggestive way, adding that he would have gotten life imprisonment if the minor had testified in court.
“You are a teacher and you were touching the breast of your student. You would have gone for life imprisonment if the victim had come to court to testify.”
Justice Taiwo, who had earlier sentenced the convict to five years imprisonment, however, increased his jail term to seven years without an option of fine after saying that he had been in custody for three years.
“The defendant is hereby convicted on the charge of s3xual assault of a child.
“You are a teacher and you were touching the bre*st of your student. You would have gone for life if the victim had come to court to testify.”
The convict, who lives at the Abule-Egba area of Lagos, was tried for a charge of defilement.
Daniel was 28 years old when he committed the offence on June 27, 2019, at 9.25a.m.
He unlawfully had carnal knowledge of his student in the biology laboratory at Anastasia Comprehensive College, Abule-Egba, Ikeja.
He was remanded sometime in July 2019, by Chief Magistrate Olufunke Sule-Amzat, in Kirikiri Prisons.
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