Carpenter Bags Life Jail for Sexually Assaulting 12-Year-Old Student
The victim, a 12-year-old student, testified during the trial, revealing that she used to hawk sachet water and that Jeremiah would buy every sachet water in her possession whenever she was not able to sell everything.
AKACHI NOEL 
In a significant ruling, the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja sentenced 79-year-old carpenter Olagbade Jeremiah to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old student .
The court found Jeremiah guilty of the offence of defilement under Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. The assault, which involved the insertion of his finger into the victim's vagina, occurred in 2021 at Jeremiah's workshop in the Mammy Barracks Market in the Ojo area of Lagos State.
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Despite initially denying knowing the victim, Jeremiah admitted to knowing her through her mother during cross-examination. Justice Abiola Soladoye, who presided over the case, described the convict as a "pathological liar" and emphasized the credible and truthful testimony of the prosecution witnesses.
The judge convicted Jeremiah on one count of sexual assault by penetration and ordered his name to be registered in the Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.The victim, a 12-year-old student, testified during the trial, revealing that she used to hawk sachet water and that Jeremiah would buy every sachet water in her possession whenever she was not able to sell everything.
She stated that she was given N100 by the convict every time he performed the act on her, and he would remove her pants before giving her the money. The victim did not inform anybody about the incident because she was afraid her mother would beat her.
The judge also criticized the victim's mother for sending her daughter to hawk sachet water, contributing to the vulnerability of the victim. Justice Soladoye emphasized the importance of protecting vulnerable individuals from such predatory behavior.
