By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
First Prosecution Witness a child, an asthmatic and ulcer patient aged 13 years said she’s a student and knows the accused person. She made this statement before Justice Manuela Harding of the Modern Sexual Offence court in Freetown on the 18th July 2022.
She said according to the particulars of the offence in the indictment that on the 21st of April 2019 at night her mother sent her to purchase bread and eggs at Kingtom Bridge and the accused saw her and called her.
She said the accused person told her that he wanted to discuss something urgent and important with her and told her to follow him to his house to discuss it.
She continued that he followed that accused to his house and went inside his room.
She described the accused person’s room that the room was not tiled, there was only a bed and a chair and a bicycle and there was no carpet in the room.
She said she went inside the room and started touching her and removed her cloth, she said she fought back with the accused but was unable to scream as she said she is an asthmatic and an ulcer patient and she was getting upset and couldn’t scream for help and that the area was quiet with no people around with the door locked and that if she had shouted it would have affected her health.
She furthermore testified that the accused threw her on the bed and ripped her pants and removed his boxers she said the accused forcefully inserted his penis inside her vagina and felt a sharp pain and saw blood coming from her vagina.
She testified that she spent the night at the accused house this she said that the area was scary and that she was afraid of being kidnapped.
She mentioned that in the morning hours she got up and went straight to her grandmother and that he grandmother called her mother and father but that her father came to the grandmother’s house holding a knife after hearing what she had told her grandmother.
The Prosecution Witness said her grandmother had to restrain her father and cautioned him.
She said the matter was reported at the Adelaide Street Police Station where she made statements and was given a medical paper to do a checkup at the Rainbow Center at the Cottage Hospital.
Mohamed Tapeh, the accused made his first appearance before Justice Manuella Harding of the Modern Sexual offences court no.7 in Freetown on one count charge of Sexual Penetration Contrary to section 19 of the sexual offences Act of 2012, Act no.12 of 2012 as Repealed and Replaced by section 4 (a) (ii) of the sexual offences (Amendment) Act of 2019 Act no.8 of 2019.
State Prosecutor O.V. Robin Mason Jnr made an application for the accused to be tried by a judge alone instead of a judge and jury and application was granted by Justice Manuella Harding for trial by a judge alone and no objection was made from the defense counsel K. Kanu.
The State Prosecutor also made an application for the dates on the particulars of offence on the face of the indictment which reads June 2021 be replaced with June 2019 pursuant to section 148 of the criminal procedure act no.32 and no objection was made from defense counsel hereby granting the application made.
The matter has been adjourned for further hearing.
