Rita Odafe
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Justice Abiola Soladoye of the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sentenced Stephen Francis to life imprisonment on Wednesday, March 15th, for defiling an 11-year-old primary five pupil. The prosecution had presented evidence that proved the three essential ingredients of defilement against the convict. The survivor identified the defendant as the one who had taken her to his room and had sex with her. Her testimony was consistent and unshaken under cross-examination. The judge found that slight penetration was enough to constitute sexual intercourse and that the defendant’s denial was an afterthought. Therefore, the judge found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment, as well as registering his name in the Lagos State Sexual Offence Register.
