The sexual assault trial of Dr. Olufemi Olaleye, the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, continued on Tuesday, at the Lagos State Sexual Offences Court, Ikeja.
A child forensic specialist, Mrs. Olabisi Ajayi-Kayode, on Tuesday, told the court that a 15-year-old minor allegedly defiled by her aunt’s husband, said the defendant told her virginity was outdated.
She stated that the victim also told her that Olaleye, after raping her, used tissue paper to whip off the blood that came out of her private parts.
Ajayi-Kayode, a lawyer who works with Cece Yara Foundation, said in her findings, she discovered that the child was introduced to sexual activities by Olaleye.
Olaleye is facing two counts of defilement and sexual assault by penetration of his wife’s niece.
The lawyer, who was led in evidence in chief by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins, said the victim narrated to her that the defendant started by putting his hand under her nightgown and touching her private parts.
She explained that the defendant would ask the victim to perform oral sex on him, adding that he usually perpetrated the act in a section of the sitting room not covered by the Closed Circuit Television camera.
Ajayi-Kayode, who testified before Justice Ramon Oshodi as the third prosecution witness, said the teenager mentioned to her that the defendant asked her if she was still a virgin.
She said: “He asked, ‘Are you still a virgin?’ I said, ‘I am’ and he said, ‘Why are you still a virgin? It’s no more in vogue; girls of 12, 13, and 14 years old are no longer virgins. As a medical doctor, I can cover for girls who lose their virginity and get pregnant. Well, the decision is yours.’
“Then he asked her that, ‘Can we be friends?’ And innocently, the girl said she replied that, ‘We are already friends.’
“We asked her if any other person had done this to her before, and she said no. The child said the first time the aunt’s husband had sex with her, it was painful and there was blood and he took tissue paper and whipped it off.”
The witness further narrated that the victim told her that on one particular occasion, the survivor was waiting by the security house based on the instructions of her aunt that she should not be staying alone inside the house, but when the defendant arrived, he asked her to follow him inside the house.
She said: “When they got inside the house, he asked her to prepare ‘amala’ for him. In the process of doing this, he came into the kitchen and took her to his study, had sex with her, and warned her not to tell anyone.
“She said it became overwhelming for her and she started soliloquising that she was tired of what the doctor was doing to her, not knowing that the driver heard her.”
Ajayi- Kayode added: “The aunt’s husband has been engaging the child in sexual activities over a period of time, not just once, and he used threat, and coercion.
“He used his disposition as the aunt’s husband to gain access to the child for sexual activity. And the threat and coercion were to maintain control over the child. He took advantage of the girl’s naivety by telling her that virginity is no longer in vogue.”
After the expert’s narration, the prosecution counsel asked the court to admit the witness’ findings and certificate of compliance in evidence.
During the cross-examination of the witness, the defence counsel, Babatunde Ogala, SAN, tried to fault her evidence, stating that she drew conclusions based on her interaction with the child.
She responded that she also spoke with a psychologist and the Police.
When asked if she saw a medical report before speaking with the victim, she replied: “I didn’t see any medical report but the DPP told me about a medical report.”
Further hearing was adjourned till 4 January, 2023.
