A 34-year-old schoolteacher was given a 12-year prison sentence by the Anambra State High Court, a court that deals with sexual and gender-based crimes, located in Awka, for raping an 11-year-old student.
The youngster was a Junior Secondary One student at St. Christopher’s Junior Seminary, located in the 3-3 area of Onitsha, and the instructor, Mr. Pascal Ofomata, was found guilty of defiling him.
The presiding judge, Justice Peace Otti, spoke right after delivering the verdict and praised the diligence and skill of the prosecution’s lawyer, Chinelo Akorah Esq., for pursuing the case to its conclusion.
According to her, Akorah’s farewell speech was thorough and powerful. According to her, it is extremely uncommon for cases involving sexual offenses against boys to be resolved definitively and for the perpetrators to receive punishment.
The defendant confessed that the victim licked his penis and that he instructed him to kiss him, although he had previously denied having canal knowledge of the youngster, claiming that he had never penetrated the victim’s anus.
However, following a compelling and emotional trial that featured the testimony of the victim’s physician and the investigating police officer, the court upheld the case.
Read Also: FCT police investigate death of woman found bound, unconscious in Gwarinpa hotel room
The defendant received a 12-year prison sentence after being found guilty.
Pascal Ofomata, the defendant, had already entered a not guilty plea to the three counts that were brought against him.
According to sections 3(1) and 4(1) of the Violence against Persons Prohibition Law of Anambra State, respectively, he was accused of raping the youngster and causing him bodily damage.
The third accusation against him is sexual abuse, which is punishable by section 35(2) of the Anambra State Child’s Right Law.
Additionally, the court prohibited him from working in any establishment that employs people under the age of 18, including elementary, secondary, and even postsecondary institutions.
