While preliminary criminal proceedings were ongoing, Moshe Journo fled to Israel and evaded Israeli police custody until 2017.
Polling group NOIPolls found that 47% of Nigerians blamed rape on indecent dressing, and fewer than half thought offenders should be punished.
"It is a shame that only widespread public protest made legal authorities do what was obvious."
Yarin Sherf, who is accused of raping a 13-year-old child, received what many believed to be a light sentence when "rape" was not one of the clauses.
According to the indictment, Sherf, 21, raped the girl on two different occasions, beat and strangled the girl, and offered drugs and alcohol to her.
The indictment details that after breaking into the room where the girl and her younger siblings were sleeping, the young man laid next to her and began licking and biting her face.
Atzili is currently in the process of finalizing his signing with Maccabi Haifa FC, after he left Maccabi TLV last year for the Cypriot Apoel Nikosia following statutory rape allegations.