Cleaner bags life jail for sexually assaulting baby in church

Cleaner bags life jail for sexually assaulting baby in church

The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Monday sentenced a 27-year-old cleaner, Saviour Udoh, to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl on a church premises.

Justice Ramon Oshodi held that the prosecution was able to prove the offence of defilement against the convict without reasonable doubt, stating that the defendant’s action was reprehensible and deserving of the maximum punishment under the law.

Udoh was arraigned on February 5, 2020, on a count of sexual assault by penetration preferred against him by the state, to which he pleaded not guilty.

According to the prosecution counsel, I.D. Solarin, the offence committed by Udoh contravened Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The court heard that the incident occurred on December 12, 2018, on the premises of a prominent Pentecostal church in Ikeja, Lagos.

Udoh, who also worked as a cleaner at the church, approached the sleeping child in the children’s department and sexually assaulted her.

The victim’s mother reported the crime to the authorities, leading to Udoh’s arrest.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Oshodi held that the crime committed was a grave one.

He said, “The court has carefully considered the evidence presented during the trial, including the confessional statement, the testimony of the victim, her mother, the IPO, and the medical evidence. The crime he has committed is a grave one as it involves sexual exploitation of a vulnerable child.”