In his plea for leniency, Akaninyene Sunday Ekwere, the convicted rapist of a four-year-old girl, had told the court to have mercy on him because he is a married man.
The convicted sex pervert spoke as an Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot Ibritam handed him a life imprisonment for raping a four-year-old girl.
Ekwere, a neighbour to the child’s parents, traded in engine oil, electrical appliances and recharge cards. He allegedly lured the minor to his shop, where he defiled her.
The mother of the victim was said to have discovered bruises around her little daughter’s private part when she bathed her, prompting her to report the matter to the Police.
In his confessional statement, Ekwere admitted to inviting the minor to his shop while she was playing outside the compound.
He also confessed to rubbing Vaseline jelly on her private part before raping her.
The presiding judge, Justice Nkereuwem Obot, in his judgement, described Ekwere as dangerous to the society and does not deserve to live in the midst of sane people.
Having found the accused guilty, the judge sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Laws of 2020 stipulates that rape entails a life sentence, along with the offender’s name being included in the state’s sex offenders’ register.
The convict, popularly called ‘Doctor’, however, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying, he is a married man.
