A Nigerian man identified as Friday Jeremiah has been jailed after having sex with a minor at his homeless shelter in Australia.
Jeremiah was on Wednesday sentenced in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after pleading guilty to forcefully having carnal knowledge of a 17-year-old minor who was in his care.
The Salvation Army support worker will now have to spend at least six months behind bars for his actions after the court ruling.
The 35-year-old, who left Nigeria for Australia in 2008, will be eligible for parole on December 3, 2024.
“Friday Jeremiah, a therapeutic youth support worker used the girl’s ‘vulnerability’ to get close to her and have sexual intercourse with her,” The Daily Mail wrote.
“The court heard how Jeremiah had asked the girl ‘what she was into’ sexually, which caused her to feel ‘uncomfortable’.
“The offending occurred when he took the victim away from the shelter to a nearby park, where he grabbed her head and kissed her.”
According to the report, Jeremiah thereafter led the teenage girl to a tree and pulled down her pants before engaging in sexual activity.
At the court hearing, it was revealed that Jeremiah left and returned to the shelter but told the young girl to wait for about 10 minutes before returning in order not to raise any suspicion.
The teenage girl couldn’t keep the incident to herself, though, as she messaged a friend to inform her of her ordeal.
“The court heard that Jeremiah continued to message the victim for months after she left the shelter, and even sent her a picture of his genitalia,” the report read.
“She later sent Jeremiah a message saying their relationship was inappropriate and made a complaint.”
Judge Andrew Scotting in his ruling said Jeremiah was ‘deceptive’ and ‘secretive’ about his relationship with the girl.
Scotting also made note of the ‘significant age gap’ between Jeremiah and the girl, calling the Nigerian’s conduct ‘a serious breach of trust’.
‘The victim was a resident because she was vulnerable and the offender took advantage of that vulnerability to get close to her and have sexual intercourse with her,’ he said.
Scotting, despite saying that Jeremiah had a good work history and was an active volunteer, sentenced the suspect to nine months in jail with a non-parole period of six months after ruling that his good character was ‘reduced to some extent’.
