…As German court shown video of 6-year-old in mass sex abuse case***
An Evboriaria Chief Magistrates’ Court in Benin, on Thursday sentenced a 52-year-old native doctor, Jacob Alonge, to 21 years imprisonment without option of fine for raping and impregnating his teenage daughter.
The sentence came, just as a German Court watch video taken of sexual abuse of a six-year-old child, amongst the over 42 children sexually abused, over a decade at a German campsite.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Dorothy Adamaigbo, convicted the defendant over three-count charge of repeated sexual assault, fetish wrap of the girl’s pubic hair, raping and impregnating her.
The court sentenced Alonge to five years on the first count of possession of fetish wrap of the girl’s pubic hair; two years for raping and impregnating her and 14 years for repeated sexual assault.
The chief magistrate said the sentence would run concurrently.
Earlier, the prosecution had told the court that the convict committed the offence in Ososo Village, Akoko-Edo Local Government in Edo.
The prosecution said that the convict, who turned his daughter to a sex slave for several years, also instructed her never to sleep with any other man.
Aside from raping the 17-year-old girl repeatedly and impregnating her, Alonge procured abortion for her and shaved the hair in her private parts.
The prosecution said that the girl had become pregnant a second time when the matter came to public knowledge and he was arrested by the police and arraigned in court.
According to the prosecutor, the pregnant girl, however, died along with four others in an accident along Benin-Auchi highway, while travelling from Ososo to Benin on their way to the court.
The prosecutor said that among the dead were the girl’s uncle, two workers of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Brave Heart Initiative, helping the girl with the case, and the cab driver.
The prosecutor said that after learning of the auto crash, Alonge who had earlier pleaded guilty to the counts against him and was about to be sentenced, changed his plea on the day he learnt that his daughter and the others had died.
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Meanwhile, a video taken of sexual abuse of a six-year-old child was among photographs/videos viewed on Thursday by a court trying hundreds of cases of sexual abuse perpetrated over a decade at a German campsite.
The images were taken by Mario S, 34, who is on trial with Andreas V, 56, for the abuse, which occurred near Luegde town between 2008 and 2018.
They have made a wide-ranging confession of their guilt.
“All those involved in the trial were extremely affected when they had to view these videos,’’ Peter Wueller, a lawyer representing some of the victims, said.
“The images were not shown to the public in the court.
On the sixth day of the trial, several witnesses were called while the public were not allowed into the court.
“One of them was a 21-year-old psychological handicapped man, whom Mario S, is alleged to have abused.’’
The trial of Andreas V, is to be conducted separately, on account of his illness.
The court is to sit briefly on Friday to ensure that proceedings do not fall apart.
The Presiding Judge, Anke Grudda, had scheduled judgement for Aug. 16, but current estimates was for the trial to run into September.
If Andreas V is well enough, the trial of both men will continue on Aug. 15.
The two men are accused of sexually abusing at least 42 children on the campsite, the victims ranging in age from four to 13 years old.
Two weeks ago, a third suspect was found guilty of aiding and abetting sexual and serious abuse of children by the district court in Detmold and handed two years of probation in a separate trial.
– With additional report from dpa
