17-year-old boy sentenced to 14 years in prison for raping student in Ondo

17-year-old Jibola Fakologbon has been arrested for assaulting and raping a schoolgirl in Ondo State.

The young Fakologon was sentenced by the Akure division of the state High Court after he was found guilty of rape.

The court ruled that the public prosecutor was able to prove beyond a doubt that the convicted person had committed sexual assault and rape.

Fakologon was tried in December 2021 on two counts of assault and rape, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Dayo Kayode, the prosecution counsel, had informed the court that on March 11, at about 5 p.m., the convicted man indecently assaulted a woman (name withheld), a student of Ero College of Education, at Ero via Igbara-Oke.

Mr Kayode said the convict was also accused of raping the victim at the same place and time.

During the trial, the prosecution called three witnesses and presented six pieces of evidence, including out-of-court statements from the accused and the victim, the victim’s torn underwear and a medical report, while the convict testified as the only witness.

In her statement to the court, the victim stated that on the day of the incident, the accused approached her on her way to her house and asked her for money for groceries, but she refused to give it to him.

According to the prosecution, the offences contravene sections 60 and 358 of the Ondo State Penal Code, 2016.

In his verdict, Judge Yemi Fasanmi sentenced the convicted man to two years in prison for sexual assault and twelve years in prison for rape.

“The total sentence of 14 years imprisonment begins on the first day of detention. The sentences will be served concurrently,” he concluded.