Former St. FX football player sentenced to 2 years in prison for sexual assaults

A former St. Francis Xavier University football player has been sentenced to two years in prison for two sexual assaults that happened on the campus in 2022 and 2023.

Omogbolahan (Teddy) Jegede, 25, was convicted in a jury trial earlier this year. He was sentenced Wednesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Antigonish.

In addition to the prison term, Justice Frank Hoskins added three years of probation, although he said that term could be shortened if Jegede makes significant progress in the counselling he is to receive.

The Crown had asked for a sentence of up to 36 months, while defence lawyer Adam Rodgers had asked that the judge consider a conditional sentence to be served in the community.

Rodgers said that sentence could be served in Fort McMurray, Alta., where Jegede’s family lives, thereby greatly reducing the risk that he would run into either of his victims again.

But Justice Hoskins said the seriousness of the two offences required a custodial sentence. The maximum sentence for sexual assault in the Criminal Code is 10 years.

There is no minimum, so Hoskins acknowledged that technically, a conditional sentence was an available option.

“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.”

In deciding on an appropriate sentence, Hoskins had both a pre-sentence report and an Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) to help him. The IRCA author wrote how Jegede, who is Black, was feeling intense pressure around the time of the assaults and did not have culturally appropriate support to turn to.

“It should be noted that but, for the contents of the IRCA, the pre-sentence report and all the mitigating factors surrounding Mr. Jegede, this sentence would have been much higher,” Hoskins noted.

The women were attacked in residences at St. FX. One woman testified about how Jegede choked her near to unconsciousness and she saw stars. Both women said they were physically dominated by Jegede, who is much larger than they are.

Both women gave victim impact statements in which they talked about the continuing trauma they face as they try to recover from these attacks.

Hoskins said he will recommend that Jegede serve his sentence in an Alberta prison, so that he can be close to his family. However, the judge said it's only a recommendation as he doesn’t have the authority to order it.

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