Man jailed 6 months for attempting to defile minor

The police charged Hassan of Galadima village, Abuja, with one count of attempt to commit offence of defilement.

The convict however, pleaded guilty to the charge and begged for leniency.

He said, ” I plead for mercy, I want the court and the family to forgive me, it is the work of the devil.”

Delivering judgment, Justice Sulyman Ola, convicted and sentenced Hassan following his admission to committing the crime.

“The court have found the convict guilty of the offence, in line with his plea for mercy.

“And as first time offender, who did not waste the time of the court, you are hereby sentenced to six months imprisonment with an option to pay N40, 000 fine,’’ Ola pronounced.

Ola said that the judgment would serve as a deterrent to those who would want to indulge in any criminal act.

Earlier, the prosecution counsel, Chinedu Ogada, told the court that the complainant, Mr Ahuchghu Chidi, father of the child, of Madagascar Queen Estate Karsana, Abuja, reported the matter at Galadima Police Station on June 9.

Ogada alleged that on the said date, the complainant invited the defendant to his house to do some menial job around his house.

He told the court that after the defendant finished the work assigned to him, he sat down chatting and playing with the complainant’s five-year-old daughter.

The prosecution counsel however, alleged that after a while, the child suddenly started crying and ran to her father.

He alleged that, the child told her father that the defendant put his hand in her genitals, adding that during police investigation, the convict admitted to committing the crime.

Ogada said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 95 of the Penal Code Law.