NS Court Reduces Sex Offender’s Sentence Citing Racial Factors

A Nova Scotia judge has sentenced a former university football player to two years in prison after he allegedly sexually assaulted two women, saying race-based sentencing tools played a key role in reducing what would have otherwise been a longer prison term.

Omogbolahan Jegede, 25, committed two “very serious” sexual assault offences against two different women while attending St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia in 2022 and 2023, Justice Frank Hoskins of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court said in his oral decision on Dec. 17, 2025.

The court found that Jegede forced one woman to perform sexual acts, and choked the other woman “to the point that she could not breathe or speak,” Hoskins said.

Both women said in their victim impact statements that they continue to experience “deep psychological impact,” including PTSD diagnoses, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, heightened fear, academic disruption, and damage to their relationships, sense of safety, and trust in others.

Hoskins described the offences committed by Jegede as “very serious violent offences” committed in a school setting where students have the right to feel safe and secure.

Hoskins sentenced Jegede to two years in a federal prison, followed by three years of probation. He said he relied on an Impact of Race and Culture Assessment (IRCA) and other mitigating material to shorten Jegede’s prison term.

“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 stated in his reasons.

The IRCA was brought in under a federal initiative introduced by the Liberal government in 2021 to consider “disadvantages” faced by black Canadians when it comes to sentencing.

The IRCA assessment in Jegede’s case provided a detailed account of his upbringing, mental health challenges, substance use, “inadequate support systems,” and environmental conditions “that may have limited his opportunities.”

Hoskins described the IRCA as a “vital source of evidence” for courts sentencing black offenders that “provided valuable insight” and “an understanding of Mr Jegede’s background from a social, cultural perspective.”

The pre-sentence report suggested that Jegede’s parents were working professionals who raised their children to have “strong moral principles, Christian values, and a sense of responsibility and respect for others.”

The IRCA found that as Jegede moved away from the more diverse communities he lived in in Ontario and Alberta where his family resided, and moved to Nova Scotia to attend university, he experienced “systemic factors that impacted his growth and development.”

The assessment concluded that academic decline, depression, substance use, lack of culturally appropriate supports, and a lack of black mentors all contributed to Jegede being “vulnerable” at the time of the incidents.

Conservative MP Vincent Ho criticized the reduced sentencing, calling it “absolutely outrageous” that Jegede’s race was a factor in the decision.

“The Liberal DEI justice system handed a discounted sentence to a rapist because of his skin colour,” Ho said in a Dec. 22 post on X. “Liberals fund and created these policies. And victims are the ones paying the price.”

In defence of the policy, the Liberal government says, “Systemic racism and discrimination are a painful lived reality for too many Black and racialized Canadians.”

Sentencing

The Crown had requested a sentence totalling 27 to 36 months, while defence counsel had asked the court to impose a conditional sentence of two years less a day to be served in the community, saying Jegede would present a low risk to the public under strict community supervision.

“In my view, this is a case where the need for denunciation is so pressing that incarceration is the only suitable way in which to express society’s condemnation of Mr. Jegede’s conduct,” Hoskins said.

He imposed an 18-month sentence for the forced sexual acts and a six-month sentence for the second assault to be served consecutively for a total of 24 months, and an added three-year probation order involving counselling and treatment conditions. The probation order could be reduced if Jegede does “really well” with counselling and treatment, he added.

Hoskins noted there appears to be “a low risk” of Jegede re-offending given the structure and support he has from family, in addition to the public shame he has experienced since the charges were laid. “He has indeed felt the effects of public shame,” Hoskins said.

The IRCA, pre-sentence report, and Jegede’s extensive family and community support led Hoskins to believe that Jegede has “significant potential” to rehabilitate and reintegrate into society, he said.