A 39-year-old man, Charles Okoro, has been accused of raping a 7-year-old girl, Chijindu, who lives in the same compound with her single mum, Benita Ibe, at House 4 Chuks close Ije Avenue in Aba, Abia state.
According to the mother of the victim who spoke to LIB, she discovered her daughter wasn’t walking well after returning home from an outing on Tuesday, May 19. It took Chijindu two days to disclose the incident because Charles had threatened her with death if she revealed that he raped her.
“The suspect is my neighbor. My daughter normally stays at home with her sister. If I am not around, they stay together. On May 19, I noticed that the way my daughter wasn’t walking well. I asked her and she said nothing. I observed that something was wrong because she started having discharge. I told her someone must have touched for such to happen,” she narrated. Chijindu then confided that Charles, their neighbor, lured her into his room and sexually assaulted her, warning her of dire consequences if she spoke out.
The mother stated that Charles had traveled after the assault, and she chose to wait for his return before alerting the authorities to prevent his escape.
“Immediately he came back, I went to the Railway police station and made a complain and they came to arrest him. He has confessed that he did it but I don’t understand the way they want to take the matter because the policemen are now begging me. How can they beg me for this kind of offence? A girl that is 7 years and the man is 39 years? Defilement case is not a bailable offense. They are just trying to confuse me because I don’t have anybody,” she expressed.
Confirming the incident to LIB, the Investigating Police Officer IPO, Godwin Amadi, stated that the suspect is currently in the custody of the Railway police station. Amadi mentioned that a meeting between the suspect, the victim’s mother, and the Divisional Police Officer DPO has been scheduled for tomorrow, June 5.
