A 42 year old Nigerian man,Osezua
Osolase, who carried out witchcraft on teenage girls he trafficked from Nigeria
to Europe for prostitution has been jailed for 20 years.
It was recommended by the jury that Mr Osolase be deported once
he has served his sentence.
Mr Osolase from Gravesend, Kent is reported to preyed on
poverty-stricken orphans with the promise of a better life, Canterbury Crown
Court heard.
Judge Adele Williams told him he was devoid of conscience and
compassion.
Mr Osolase was found guilty of five counts of trafficking, one
of rape and one of sexual activity with a child.
The jury was told in a six-week trial which ended on Friday that
West African “juju rituals” were used to instil terror into Osolase’s three
vulnerable victims, one aged just 14.
‘Exploitation and degradation’
The judge said the recycling worker, who has HIV, put his
victims “in fear” to force their obedience and secure their silence.
“You were dealing in exploitation and manipulation and
degradation,” she told Mr Osolase.
“You are undoubtedly a very, very dishonest man. You are
arrogant and manipulative; you are devoid of conscience, devoid of any
compassion to your victims.”
The judge said Mr Osolase treated the girls as objects to be
sold as sex slaves. The fact that he raped one girl knowing he had HIV was a
“seriously aggravating” feature.
Mr Osolase is alleged to take the girls to his home in Gravesend
before sending them to work as prostitutes in mainland Europe.
The court had heard girls were trafficked into the UK and taken
to Mr Osolase’s home in Gravesend before being sent to work as prostitutes in
mainland Europe.
One of the girls described the Juju ceremony performed on her in
Nigeria. During the ritual, samples of blood were extracted from the girl and
her head hair and pubic hair were also cut.