Man Bags 10 Years In Jail For Sexual Assault Of 9-Year-Old Girl In Lagos

Stanley Mbadiwe has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the sexual assault and inappropriate treatment of a 9-year-old girl in Lagos State.

Justice Rahmon Oshodi of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, after Mbadiwe pleaded guilty to two amended charges brought by the Lagos State Government.

He was first arraigned on July 28, 2021, facing a charge of defilement based on a one-count information filed on March 6, 2019, to which he initially pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution said the convict, sometime in May 2018, at about 5 pm at Isolo, Ikeja division, Lagos, indecently treated and sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl by pressing her breast with his hands and touching her buttocks with his hand.

According to the prosecution, the offences committed contravened Sections 135, and 263 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.

During the trial, the prosecution presented two witnesses: the victim’s mother and the victim herself.

They testified that the event occurred in May 2018, when the defendant forcibly raped the victim.

It was reported that the prosecution informed the court about a plea deal that was dated and signed on October 10, 2024.

As a result, Mbadiwe was re-arraigned on two amended charges: indecent treatment of a child under Section 135 of the criminal law and sexual assault under Section 263.

He pleaded guilty to both counts, and the court accepted his plea.

However, in delivering the judgment, Justice Oshodi stated that the court had thoroughly considered the facts of the case, the plea bargain agreement, and the relevant legal provisions.

“Stanley Mbadiwe, I have found you guilty of indecent treatment of a child and sexual assault contrary to Section 135 and 263 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State,” he ruled.

“The gravity of your offence cannot be overstated as it weighs heavily upon this court. You s@xually assaulted a nine-year-old girl, a vulnerable member of our society, yet have pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

“Your reprehensible actions have not only convicted the bodily integrity of an innocent child but have also in all likelihood inflicted a long-lasting emotional and psychological trauma that will haunt the victim for years to come.”

The judge remarked that the plea bargain included a compensation clause under Section 272 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, as amended in 2021.

He noted that the N1 million compensation paid to the victim’s family indicated a degree of genuine remorse on Mbadiwe’s part.

“However, I must note that no financial compensation can genuinely undo the harm you have caused,” he noted.

The court, therefore, sentenced him to seven years imprisonment on count one and three years on count two.

The court determined that the sentences would run consecutively, as per the plea bargain agreement between both parties. Consequently, the total term of imprisonment will be 10 years.