By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
Justice Alhaji Momoh Jah Stevens has on Monday the 16th January 2023 sentenced Abu Bakarr Sannoh aged 19 years to 10 years imprisonment after finding him guilty on a once count charge of Sexual Penetration.
The accused had no defense lawyer to represent him.
State prosecutor JB Kamara made an application upon the accused arraignment for the accused to be tried by a judge alone instead of a judge and a jury of which Justice Momoh Jah Stevens granted the said application.
Prosecution Witness Susan Dumbuya mother of the victim testified in court and narrated what she knows.
She stated her occupation being a house wife and that she recognized the accused through a tenant of hers that brought him to the house.
She recalled that on the 29th January 2022, she fell ill, and decided to stay home when her husband who is a military officer of high ranking opted to prepare food for her due to her health.
She continued that she took her husband’s phone and it clicked on her to go through the content of the phone to know her daughter’s activity that her daughter normally uses her dad’s phone to do her assignment and browse through important notes.
She went on that she was shocked when she went through the browsing history of the phone and found messages on messenger of a conversation between the victim and the accused person quoting “baby, baby” she said.
Mrs Dumbuya during her testimony said she was shocked and confused as to why such messages would transpire between her daughter and the said accused person.
Furthermore she said herself and her husband called out the accused and showed him the messages and inquired of him the meaning of these messages, she said the accused did not respond rather walked out on them in to his room and again was called for the second time and again responded to them that nothing happened and walked out on them.
The witness, Mrs Dumbuya went on that her daughter was called out to explain these messages and made an attempt to deny these messages.
Mrs Susan Dumbuya told the court that upon this, she took the victim to a midwife who lived at their area where she was examined and confirmed that she had been tampered with.
She concluded her testimony that upon this revelation from the mid wife, herself and husband headed to the accused and confronted him quoting her she said “We reach na ihn place and wae are see am, are buckle am and butt am na ihn ed” meaning I grabbed him by his cloth and gave him a head but to which she said the accused was sleek enough to remove his cloth from her and ran away. She said the accused ran away for the past 4 months and was later arrested. She said herself and her husband made statements at the Regent Police Station.
The accused after the witness’s testimony was asked if he had any question for the witness to which he asked her what messages did the witness see on the phone.
The witness replied that there was a particular message she saw that struck her, she said a day in question where the accused asked the victim to come out of the house and see him briefly to which the victim said she tried coming out of the house in pretense to buy bread but that her father told her to send her brother that it was past 11pm, she went on that the accused then replied the victim quoting the witness “e lef to u en u people em”.
Justice Momoh Jah Stevens in handing down his sentenced said to the accused upon allegation that the accused tried to make against the detective officer when he read his confessional statement in court that the officer forced him to confess to the crime stating that he is innocent of the accusation.
Justice Momoh Jah Stevens cautioned the accused on his choice of words that he was not forced to do anything rather he made a confessional statement to the offence that evidence against him has indicted him already and moreover when the accused fled off for the past 4 months into hiding proved that he was guilty of his actions and would rather be in hiding than face the punishment of the law.
Justice Alhaji Momoh Jah Stevens sentenced the accused person to 10 years imprisonment.
The state prosecutor was JB Kamara and the accused had no legal representation.