Sentencing proceedings commenced on Friday for a former St. Francis Xavier University football player who was found guilty earlier this year of two counts of sexual assault. The prosecution and defense are in disagreement regarding the manner in which the sentence should be carried out.
Omogbolahan (Teddy) Jegede, aged 25, and the two female victims of his sexual assaults were all enrolled as students at the university in Nova Scotia when the incidents took place in 2022 and 2023 on the campus in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
Both victims provided impact statements during the sentencing. One victim, speaking from behind a screen to avoid seeing Jegede, disclosed suffering from PTSD, depression, anxiety, agoraphobia, and panic attacks. The second victim did not appear in court but had her statement read by the prosecution, detailing how she experiences headaches, anxiety, and nightmares. She mentioned having to quit her summer job due to the distress caused by the assaults.
Furthermore, the second victim’s mother delivered a statement describing the drastic change in her daughter’s demeanor from a cheerful, excited 19-year-old to an anxious, emotionally distressed individual who became socially withdrawn.
During the court proceedings, Crown prosecutor Courtney MacNeil urged Justice Frank Hoskins to impose a 27 to 36-month prison term for both offenses, emphasizing the severity of sexual assaults and the profound impact on the victims. In contrast, Jegede’s defense lawyer, Adam Rodgers, proposed a community-based sentence for his client.
Rodgers suggested a conditional sentence to be served in Jegede’s hometown of Fort McMurray, Alberta, far away from the crime scenes and the victims. He presented three letters of support from members of the Nigerian community in Fort McMurray who are acquainted with Jegede and his family.
When given an opportunity to speak in court, Jegede described the post-conviction period as a mental and physical struggle while maintaining his innocence. Both the prosecution and defense agreed that Jegede should provide a DNA sample to a national database and be listed on the national sex offender registry. However, they disagreed on the duration of the registry listing, with the Crown advocating for a lifetime inclusion and Rodgers suggesting a shorter duration.
Justice Hoskins is scheduled to announce the sentencing decision on December 17.
