The 16th judicial circuit court has brought down a guilty verdict against defendant Junior Harris for statutory rape as rape cases peak in Gbarpolu County.
The grand jury for Gbarpolu County, sitting in its May term returned a true bill against defendant Harris, resident of Weasua Town, Gbarma District on May 17, 2024 at 8:00 AM and allegedly had sexual intercourse with the three years old child using his penis, thereby causing the child to bleed profusely from her private part.
The indictment further alleged that during the above mentioned date and time the victim’s mother took her (victim) on the farm and while in the field planting corns, she left the victim under a tent where the defendant, who is her neighbour crept from the back and entered the tent where he allegedly sexually abused the child.
The case was advanced on the court’s docket where the prosecution motion to advance the case on the trial docket was disposed of, when defendant Harris was arraigned in open court on Monday, June 4,2024,where he pleaded guilty to the indictment.
According to Section 14.3(a) of the new Rape Law of Liberia, “Any person who at the time of the relevant act or immediately before it began, was using violence against the victim or causing the victim to fear that immediate violence would be used against him/her.”
The court further said even though the defendant pleaded guilty to the indictment, Section 16.4 of the Criminal procedure law gives the judge the discretionary power to impose sentence, since rape is not a capital offence as envisages by Section 14.70(4)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) and (b) the New rape law, which makes a First degree rape a Felony of the First degree grading and sentencing.
The crime of statutory rape is a felony, hence any imposition of a sentence must adhere to the rape law.
With all of these references mentioned, the presiding Judge Wesseh A. Wesseh imposed a sentence term of 40 years with a day covering the period of his arrest on May 17, 2024 to May 17, 2064; report by Solomon Tayblah in Gbarpolu.
