The confession of a 15-year-old girl, Rose Akpederi has led to the arrest of her father, a 52 year old retired civil servant, Paul Akpederi, accused of sexually abusing the victim [his only daughter for three years].
The victim’s confession as narrated by a social worker, who was part of the rescue shows Paul started sleeping with his only daughter after separating from her mother.
The social worker explained, “The man had been defiling his daughter since the wife left him. She is their only daughter and when the marriage broke down, he took custody of her. That was when the problem started.
“He started sleeping with her when she was barely 12 years old. She was in JSS 3 then. They were about to start their final exams in the junior school when her colleagues found her crying uncontrollably.
Also read:Father who raped own daughter for three years arrested by police
When they could not console her, they called the attention of one of their teachers, who then took her to a room.
“She told the teacher what she had been going through and the teacher informed Rose’s pastor at a branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, who counselled her. Her father was invited and that was the end of the case.
“The man, who was desperate to cover up the crime, changed her school and she lost contact with the teacher”
It was gathered that the defilement continued until Rose got to SSS 2 in her new school.
It was learnt that the teacher in her former school ran into her one day and they had a brief discussion about her welfare.
The teacher, who suspected the abuse was still continuing, reportedly informed a friend, who wrote about Rose’s ordeal on OPD’s Facebook page on October 9.
A member of the OPD team that visited the victim’s school said she initially denied the defilement and attempted to exonerate her father.
He said,“She kept lying and when we didn’t get a breakthrough, we got in touch with the mandatory reporter (teacher) who then assisted us in trailing her to her parent’s house.
The police arrested the man and rescued the girl. “They were both taken to a police station. During interrogation, the girl again denied that anything happened. Her father suddenly became aggressive and said we didn’t have his permission to interview his daughter.
“The girl was taken to the OPD’s office at Ikorodu, where she opened up to an officer. We took her to a home in Ijede, where she was placed in a shelter and protective custody”.
The social worker who interviewed Rose said she gave a chilling account of her ordeal. “She said her father had been sleeping with her since she was in JSS 3 and he slept with her at least three times in a month. She said he slept with her in August and September 2017 as well.
She explained that he always poured his semen into her private parts and he never used contraceptives. She said anytime he slept with her, he would tell her not to tell anybody. The girl said she could not tell people because she thought nobody would believe her” the official said.
It was gathered that she was placed on medication over complaints that she had yet to see her menstrual period, just as some growths were allegedly spotted in her private parts.
She was reportedly taken to Mirabel Centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, for medical tests.
It was also gathered that the result of the tests, which had been given to the police, showed that Rose’s hymen was broken and there was “continuous penetration” of her private parts.
Having learnt of the victim’s confession, the Owutu Divisional Police Officer requested that she be brought back to the station.