An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo, the state capital, has sentenced 29-year-old Tunde Olapade to life imprisonment for raping a minor.
AMILOADED gathered that Olapade was charged on a three count charge of rape, indecent Assault and defilement.
The offences are said to contravene Section 358, 360 and 218 of criminal code law, Cap.34, volume 11 Laws of Osun State, 2002, respectively.
The prosecuting counsel from the Ministry of Justice, Barrister Mosunmola Ogunkola, a Principal State Counsel, told the court that Olapade committed the offence on October 5, 2012 against a 7-year-old girl (name withheld) whose parents were his neighbour as at the time of committing the offence.
According to Justice Ogunkola, the girl claimed that when she saw the convict, she was playing in front of her house with her junior sister when he called her, greeted her, and held the hand of the little girl and later took her to a public toilet and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.
The victim further stated that Olapade threatened her not to tell her mother and if she did, her mother would beat her seriously.
On 6th October, 2012, her mother Mrs. Sadiat Adejumo asked her daughter why she couldn’t sit very well while performing her ablution, the daughter expressed her ordeal to her mother, with the hazardous attitude of Tunde Olapade.
The Defence Counsel, Barrister T.S Adegboyegba, in his Address told the court that convict was innocent of the three count charge and prayed the court to discharge him and acquit on all the counts.
This was, however, opposed by prosecuting counsel Ogunkola who called six withnesses during the trial.
The victim told the court that “She knows Tunde Olapade, he is a shoe maker and we mend our shoes there and we grind pepper in his mummy’s shop. I was outside playing with my younger one and he held my hand and took me to our backyard. He covered my mouth and inserted his penis into my vagina”.
The prosecuting counsel also informed the court that one of the prosecution withnesses, Dr. Femi Ala a medical expert, consultant Gynecologist from the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, now UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital Osogbo, told the court that there was a prolapse and the protrusion of the urethra wall a content of the body which was supposed to be within.
In his Judgement, Justice Olayinka Ayoola stated that the prosecution has proved his case beyond every reasonable doubt and accordingly found Tunde Olapade guilty of the three count charge preferred against him and consequently sentenced him to life imprisonment.
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