Tina Amanda
A Magistrate Court sitting in Port Harcourt has convicted 24-year-old Emeka Iyalla to a one-year non-custodian sentence for an attempted defilement of an eight-year-old girl, at Ogbogoro community in Obio Akpor local government area, on 8 August 2018.
Chief Magistrate Felicitas Amanze in her judgement found the accused guilty as charged and gave him a custodian sentence to clean the High Court and Magistrate Court premises every Monday for a period of one year.
The court ruled that the Defendant must report to the Acting Chief Registrar every Monday and order restitution of the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand naira to be paid to the victim’s family.
Chief Magistrate Amanze held that the court was lenient to apply the Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) based on the fact that the medical report conducted on the victim and presented in court showed the little girl’s hymen is intact but only had vulva bruises.
The court also ruled that the Defendant has served some years in prison and his remorseful attitude has been evaluated in court.
In an interview with our correspondent, Legal Officer with FIDA Rivers State, Esther Achor-Korienta, said the sentence will serve as a deterrent to anyone attempting to carry out such an offence.
Recall that the Defendant was accused of using his penis on the girl to get ejaculation on 8 August 2018, at an uncompleted building located at Ogbogoro.
The case was reported to the Police and it was charged to court on one count charge for unlawfully attempted defilement.
At the meantime, Chief Magistrate Felicitas Amanze, also sentenced a 37-year-old woman, Onyinye Henry, to a non-custodial sentence for the abduction of her fellow tenant’s 13-year-old housemaid by taking her away from their residence at Rumuodumaya and abandoned her at work in Port Harcourt.
In her judgement delivery, Chief Magistrate Amanze found the accused guilty as charged for exhibiting wickedness to her co-tenant because they were not on good terms, without considering the danger such actions pose on the naive victim who was just brought from the village by her guardian.
The court ordered the accused to pay the sum of five hundred thousand naira to the complaint and ordered the accused to remain in custody until the money is paid.
Chief Magistrate Amanze blamed the accused for refusing to settle with the complainant when the Police told her to do so before the matter was charged to court and ordered the accused to openly apologise to the complainant in court which she did.
Recall that on 23 January 2019, the accused Onyinye Henry was said to have taken away her co-tenant’s 13-year-old housemaid from their residence at Wisdom Gate Rumuodumaya, Port Harcourt magisterial district to an unknown destination at work area in Port Harcourt and abandoned the girl there.
According to the victim, the accused promised to take her to a place better than her guardians’ house where she can be watching TV, but only for the accused to take her to an unknown destination and abandoned her there warning her never to return to her guardian again.
The accused was said to have been in quarrelling terms with the complainant and carried out the act just to anger her co-tenant.
Speaking on the judgements in an interview with our correspondent, Legal Officer with FIDA Rivers State, Esther Achor-Korienta, said the sentence will serve as a deterrent to anyone attempting to defile children, while advising people against quarrels, keeping malice with their fellow tenants and people around them.
