The Court convicted Ezeji on one count charge bothering on unlawful sexual abuse of the victim at his residence somewhere around Eastern By-Pass in Port Harcourt City Local Government Area of Rivers State sometime in February, 2019.
Chief Magistrate Felicitas Amanze in her judgment, said the convict is guilty of the offence, punishable under section thirty two of the Child Right Act of the state.
Today Fm’s Uchendu Ejiowhor reports that Chief Magistrate Amanze described the action of the convict as an act of wickedness, particularly for lying to the court that the victim who is a minor had interest in him before having canal knowledge of her.
The Court further said the evidences tendered before the court such as the victims medical report, the confessional statement made by the convict to the police, the one hundred and fifty thousand naira offered to the victims parent as settlement out of court, showed that the convict truly committed the crime and thereby sentenced him accordingly.
Speaking to newsmen outside the courtroom, Counsel to the convict, Lucy Effiong welcomed the judgment.
On her part, Esther Achor-Korienta who is the counsel for the International Federation of Female Lawyers in Rivers State welcomed the judgment and stressed the need for victims to stop accepting monetary settlement when it concerns child defilement and rape.
