Mr. Taiwo Ajayi, the former Vice Principal of St. Mary’s Girls Grammar School, Ikole-Ekiti has been handed a life sentence after he was found guilty of raping a 12-year-old pupil of the school.
The prosecutor while addressing the court revealed that Ajayi’s offence is contrary to Section 31(2) of the Child Rights Law of Ekiti State, 2012. The convict was the Vice Principal (Academics) at the time he committed the offence on March 18, 2014.
According to a witness who addressed the high court sitting in Ado-Ekiti, Ajayi lured the 12-year-old girl into his office, locked the door and gagged her mouth before raping her. The witness added that one of the teachers who noticed something was going wrong in the Vice Principals office, knocked the door but Mr. Ajayi refused to open, warning the teacher not to tell anyone what has just happened.
While delivering his judgment, Justice Oluwatoyin Abodunde rejected the convict’s counsel’s plea for leniency on grounds that his client is a first offender, saying the prosecution had proved the case beyond every reasonable doubt on the strength of evidence brought before the court.
Justice Abodunde said; “The cases of child defilement have been on the increase lately and to serve as a deterrent to others, my view is that the punishment stipulated by lawmakers was deliberate to deter the offence and protect the right to dignity of the child.
“The defence counsel is pleading for leniency and praying for a fine instead of the due punishment. My question is who pays the victim for the lifetime scar of the trauma and torture of rape?
“I am unable to deviate from the provisions of the law in this instant. The defendant is found guilty as charged and sentenced to life imprisonment.”
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