National Telescope national telescope newspaper
Justice Oluwatoyin Abodunde of the Ado-Ekiti High Court in Ekiti State on Monday sentenced a 53-year-old priest, Gabriel Asateru, to five years in prison for defiling a minor.
The offence, according to a report by The Nation, contravened the provisions of Section 31 of the Child Rights Law Cap C7, Laws of Ekiti State of Nigeria 2005.
Justice Abodunde held that the prosecution, Mrs Ronke Odefola, has proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt that Asateru on December 23, 2016, committed the offense at Ayebaju Street, Ifisin Ekiti.
Odefola further said that the five-year-old victim was defiled by the priest when she visited her parents in the Ekiti community.
In addition to sentencing him to jail, Abodunde also ordered the accused to pay N50,000 as fine as stipulated by the Child Rights Law, 2006.
Asateru was first arraigned in January 2018 for the offence but pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In securing a conviction, the prosecution presented three witnesses from the office of the Department of Public Prosecution, and also tendered exhibits including a doctor’s report, defendant’s statement and the accounts of other witnesses.
(SAHARA REPORTERS)
