LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A 25-year-old Nigerian man, Utseoritselaju Uwatse, has been sentenced by an Irish court to four years imprisonment for raping a fellow college student in Ireland.
Irish Mirror reports that, Uwatse was found guilty of one count of a rape charge in March, 2023 for the offence which took place 20 April, 2018.
According to Detective Garda McGrath to the Prosecuting Counsel, Conor Devally, that a group of college students gathered for drinks in Cratloe Student Village before going into Limerick City for a night out on the day of the incident.
McGrath said one of the members of the group was the victim, who said in her evidence that the group went to Smyth’s pub and then onto Molloy’s late bar in Limerick, where she met Uwatse, whom she knew socially.
CCTV footage, which was played in court, showed when Uwatse and the victim hugged each other that night.
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During court proceedings, it was said that Uwatse picked the victim up, carried her into a bedroom, and laid her on the bed, where she remembered him removing her shoes before falling asleep. She woke early the following morning, and her clothes did not feel right with the convict beside her.
Uwatse then asked her if she “was on a pill?” She found this question unusual, and he later told her that they had sex and the condom broke. She became upset after realizing that she didn’t consent to it.
The court revealed that Uwatse left the apartment, and gardaí were called. He was arrested and questioned in June and told gardaí that the sex had been consensual.
Reading her victim impact statement to the court, the victim said: “I don’t think there are any words that would convey the damage that you have done”, and: “The woman who is here today is broken down”. She also said: “I felt guilty for the heaviness I brought to my friends and family.”
During the sentencing, Justice Paul Burns said rape was a serious crime and he agreed that Uwatse deserved a headline sentence of between seven and 10 years.
He noted Uwatse had had a promising future ahead of him before this offence, and noted he has no previous convictions.
Justice Burns further said he hoped that the woman, with the support of her family and friends, would be able to put the matter behind her as best as she could.