By: Audrey Raymonda John
Mohamed Swarray, a 38-year-old cleaner at a microcredit finance company, has been sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment at the male correctional facility by Justice Adrian Fisher in High Court No. 1 on Siaka Steven Street.
Swarray was convicted on one count of rape, contrary to section 6 of the Sexual Offences Act 2012 (Act No.12 of 2012), as repealed and replaced by Section 2 (a) (ii) of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 2019 (Act No.8 of 2019).
The conviction stems from an incident on November 23, 2023, in Freetown, where Swarray intentionally committed an act of sexual penetration against a 35-year-old woman without her consent.
According to the victim’s testimony, around 9:00 PM, her microfinance loan team leader, Jean Conteh, and four others arrived at her home. Her eight-year-old daughter was sick and had been admitted to the hospital for days. Conteh stated they needed to take her to the office because she owed money to the Portee-based microcredit company. The victim agreed to go, taking her daughter with her.
Upon arrival at the office, Conteh handed her over to a female staff member and left. The victim and her daughter remained with three office workers. The manager, known to the victim, instructed the accused (Swarray) that if she paid half the debt, she could be released; if she paid nothing, she would stay overnight and be taken to the police station in the morning.
The victim sat on the office veranda with her daughter. Swarray called her inside. The office consisted of two rooms and a general parlour; one room was closed, the other open. Swarray pushed her towards the toilet, causing her to hit the wall – an act witnessed by her pleading daughter, which Swarray ignored.
Later, while the victim’s daughter was in the parlour, Swarray called her again. He stood by a door inside, hooked her neck, pushed her into the room, and closed the door. When she tried to open it, he pushed her towards a foam mattress laid on tiled flooring. Weakened from fasting and the late hour (around 8:00 PM), she fell onto the bed.
Swarray pressed a pillow over her mouth, forcibly removed her underwear, bra, and clothes, played with her breasts, and scratched her arm. He was only wearing a long cloth (no underwear). Despite her resistance and cries, he forced her legs apart and penetrated her vagina with his penis. He ejaculated inside her.
After the assault, Swarray told her to leave immediately and avoid the loan officer. The victim protested, stating her loan repayment delay was due to her daughter’s illness and that his actions constituted rape. Swarray claimed he would pay her debt. He then opened the door, and the victim took her daughter and left.
She went first to the Portee Wharf police station but was told officers were not on night duty. She then proceeded to the Grassfield police station, reported the rape, and gave a formal statement.
Justice Fisher, delivering the sentence, emphasized that Swarray exploited the victim’s vulnerable condition. The judge stated the accused “is not supposed to be outside” due to the severity of the crime and the sufficient evidence presented by the prosecution. Consequently, Swarray was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment at the male correctional facility in Freetown.