A former university football player who choked a woman until she was almost unconscious and forced another one to give him a blowjob <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">was given a reduced sentence by a Canadian judge of just two years in prison because he's black </strong>and was 'feeling intense pressure' at the time of the attacks. 

<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">"It should be noted that but, for the contents of<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> the Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA), the pre-sentence report </strong>and all the mitigating factors surrounding <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">Omogbolahan (Teddy) Jegede, this sentence would have been much higher</strong>," Justice Frank Hoskins said in his Nova Scotia Supreme Court decision last Wednesday, the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">National Post</em> reports. </span>

<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The author of an Impact of Race and Culture Assessment, a report funded under a new initiative from the Trudeau Liberals, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">wrote that Jegede was feeling intense pressure around the time of the assaults </strong>and did not have culturally appropriate support to turn to.</em>

<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Of note, IRCAs are relatively new in Canadian law - and have become popular thanks to an initiative which began under the Justin Trudeau liberals. </span>

<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The attacks happened <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">in 2022 and 2023</strong> at residences at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. - with one woman testifying that Jegede choked her, and the other testifying that <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">she was forced to perform oral sex</strong>. Both women said they were <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">physically dominated by Jegede</strong>, who is much larger than they are. </span>

In addition to his two-year jail sentence, Hoskins added three years of probation - which can be reduced if Jegede makes significant progress in counseling. 

<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Crown had requested a sentence of up to 36 months</strong>, while Jegede's defense asked the judge to reduce his sentence to community service. 

"In my view, this is a case where the need for denunciation is so pressing the incarceration is the only civil way in which to express society’s condemnation of Mr. Jegede’s conduct," said Hoskins, noting that Jegede came from a strong, church-going family with strict parents that had stable careers. The now-convicted sex offender told the court that he grew up feeling loved by his family. 

He then began a degree in kinetics at St.FX, however <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">those studies were interrupted by his sex crimes</strong> and subsequent charges. 

<span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Jegede was born in Lagos, Nigeria </span>and immigrated to Canada in 2010. His mother said that <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">the transition to Canada was a significant adjustment for the family</strong>, and their youngest son "experienced bullying in elementary school due to his accent and racial identity as a black child."

To prepare for his trial, an IRCA was written that looked at this kind of cultural factor, and noted <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">declines in Jegede's classroom performance and mental health in his 2nd and 3rd years at St. FX</strong>. Jegede told the author that he struggled with a sense of isolation because he's black in a predominantly white university town.

"I grew up around black people in Brampton and Fort McMurray. Many of them were immigrants, which allowed us to relate to each other on many levels, especially culture. It was like that until I moved to Antigonish to attend university," he said.

Judge Hoskins, reading from the IRCA, said in his decision: <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">"The absence of adult mentors or role models further exacerbated Mr. Jegede’s vulnerability. His parents had hoped his football coach would provide guidance, but this need went unmet."</strong>

The judge added that the IRCA "provided valuable insight. It has provided me with an understanding of Mr. Jegede’s background from a social, cultural perspective," but then circled back to the "<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">two very serious sexual assault and offences against two different victims at the same school, in similar circumstances, approximately five months apart</strong>, which is concerning, because it suggests that Mr. Jegede may be dangerous … In other words, this is not an isolated incident involving one victim, the nature of both offences and their immediate lasting consequences make them very serious offences."

Hoskins noted that the "primary aggravating factor, in this case, is the violence and serious evasive nature of the sexual assaults, particularly the offence involving (one of the victims), where<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"> she was forced to provide Mr. Jegede oral sex, while her movements were being forcefully controlled by (him).</strong>"

The judge also addressed the defense's request for community service, saying "I’m in the view that I cannot exclude a federal period of incarceration as a fit and proper punishment for these offences," and arrived at the 24 month sentence by determining 18 months for the more violent and invasive of the two sexual assaults, and six months for the other.