Man bags 14 years in prison on plea bargain after acknowledgement of guilt
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A certain Taofik Oladosu has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for attempting to sexually assault a 12-year-old girl (name withheld), upon plea bargain after pleading guilty to the crime at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court.
Judge Rahman Oshodi convicted Oladosu after his agreement to the amended one-count charge of attempted sexual assault by penetration.
Oshodi held that he was satisfied that Oladosu understood the nature of the plea bargain agreement he entered into but stressed that the convict was initially charged with the more serious offence of defilement which attracts life imprisonment.
“However, through the plea bargain process, you have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempt to commit sexual assault by penetration under Section 262, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment,” the Judge said.
“I have considered your plea for mercy, and I have also considered the prosecution’s submissions regarding the appropriate sentence.
“The plea agreement, dated and filed on April 11, provides that you shall serve 14 years’ imprisonment from the date of your remand.
“Having considered all the circumstances of this case, including the seriousness of the offence, the impact upon the victim, your guilty plea, and the terms of the plea agreement, I find the agreed sentence appropriate and hereby adopt it.”
Oladosu was sentenced to 14 years in jail, beginning from 14 December 2015, the day he was remand.
The court also ruled that his name be registered as a sexual offender.
The convict was initially arraigned before Judge Nwaka (now Justice of the Court of Appeal) on 5 February 2018 at which he had pleaded not guilty to.
He was later re-arraigned before Oshodi on 16 September 2021 and he also pleaded not guilty, which necessitated trial.
The prosecution called two witnesses, a medical doctor and the investigating police officer (IPO), through whom documents were tendered as evidence of the offence.
State prosecution counsel Bukola Okeowo told the court that the convict committed the offence between September and December 2015 on Oyo Street, Mushin, Lagos.
Okeowo said the convict attempted to sexually assault the victim by trying to penetrate her vagina with his finger, an offence which contravenes Section 262 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.
Read also:
Falz clarifies his false take on fornication based on “personal religion”
, upon plea bargain after pleading guilty ..){kind=link}