Embattled actor Olanrewaju James, also known as Baba Ijesha, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for child defilement. He has served one year of his prison term at the Maximum Security Custodial Centre in Kirikiri, Lagos State.
He was convicted of the crime on July 14, 2022, and was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment on four of the six-count charge—indecent treatment of a child, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault by penetration, and sexual assault by penetration— preferred against him.
Recall that James was arrested on April 22, 2021, and first appeared before Magistrate P.E. Nwaka of the Yaba Magistrate Court in Yaba, Lagos, on July 16, 2021.
The actor was later arraigned at the Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja, before Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, who eventually delivered the judgment.
While reading her judgment, she said, “I hereby find the defendant guilty of counts two to five, and he is discharged of counts one and six.
The defendant is hereby sentenced to five years imprisonment for count two, three years for count three, five years for count four, and three years for count five.”