A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday sentenced to five years in imprisonment a 50-year-old man, Preye Ojoko, for the serial rape of his sister-in-law.
Ojoko, father of five was arrested and prosecuted for the raping of the victim since she was nine-year-old and later at age 17 under the guise of training her in school.
The prosecuting counsel, Kemesuode Wodu, told the Court that the accused started the serial rape of the victim when she was nine-years-old, but she was rescued and taken back to the village after the initial discovery by his wife, who is a Vice Principal in one of the public schools in the state.
He disclosed that the accused, after convincing his wife that he has changed for good, lured back the victim to the house under the pretense of his readiness to support her university education.
According to Wodu, the accused resumed the abuse of her sister-in-law who is now 17, until she complained to her guidance counsellor who later reported to the school’s Principal. The Principal raised the alarm and reported the case to the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) in the state.
The Presiding Judge, Justice T.Y.Abasi, after listening to the submissions of the prosecution counsel, and the defence counsel, Stanley Damabide, sentenced the accused to five years imprisonment.
Reacting to the development, the acting chairperson of FIDA in Bayelsa State, Ebimietei Ekeowei Ottah, described the hearing and ruling of the Court as swift and commendable.
She, however, expressed concern over the issue of settlement out of court by parents of a rape victim
