A man named Kenneth Nwangu has been sentenced to 10 years’ in prison after he was convicted of sexually abusing his nine-year-old daughter.
The judgment was delivered by the Children Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court in Awka, Anambra State.
The defendant was found guilty on three counts. The first count charged him with engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor, which is an offense punishable under Section 34 of the Child Rights Law of Anambra State of Nigeria, 2004. For this count, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The second count accused him of inflicting physical injuries on his victim, and the third count accused him of causing emotional and psychological abuse on the victim.
These counts are punishable under Sections 4 and 16 of the Violence Against Persons, Prohibition, and Protection Laws of Anambra State of Nigeria, 2017. Therefore, he received two years of imprisonment for count two and an additional one year for count three.
During the trial, the prosecutor presented witnesses, including the victim and neighbors, who testified against the defendant. It was revealed that the victim is the defendant’s only child, and her mother had left the union when she was just a year old.
The defendant had been the sole caregiver for the child. He was arrested after a neighbor discovered that he was molesting his nine-year-old daughter
Initially, when the court asked the defendant to explain why he committed the act against his own child, he pleaded not guilty. However, later on, he admitted to the crime and pleaded for leniency.
After carefully considering the arguments from both parties, the court ordered that the sentences of seven, two, and one year should run concurrently, meaning that the defendant will serve a total of 10 years in prison.
