July 27, 2021
By: Francis F. M. Harding
11 years Old girl child who is also a rape victim has testified before Justice Momoh Jah Stevens at the Modern Sexual Court at the High Court in Freetown on the 26th July, 2021 in a case of sexual offence contrary to section 19 of the sexual offences Act 2012.
The victim was 9 years when the incident happens to her in2019 at Ascension Town in Freetown. The age of the accused person is 25 years old and is standing trial at the High Court on sexual offence.
It would be recall that on the 19th January, 2019 at Freetown in the Western Area of Sierra Leone, the accused engaged in an act of sexual penetration with a child. According to the police charged sheets, the accused person is charged with one count of sexual penetration. It is alleged in court one that the accused person on the 19th January, 2019 sexually penetrated a girl child at the Ascension Town in Freetown.
Testifying in court, the Police Witness said she recognized the accused person.
She said she can recall on the 19th January, 2019. Witness said she went to buy sweet, suddenly she saw the accused person and he told her that she has pride. Witness said she told him to live her alone. Witness said he started following her and later she hides herself.
Witness said the accused person finally captured her and a woman was passing by and she asked for assistant from the woman and the accused person said they are brothers and sisters. The witness said the accused person still persisted and the woman left and another man came and she told him the same words she has told the previous woman. She said the man too left as the man was thinking that they were joking. The witness said the accused persons turned left and right and he took something to close her mouth in the compound.
The witness said everyone was inside. The witness said the accused person took her to a make shift house and removed her cloth and later the accused person removed his own cloth. She said the accused person sexual penetrated her by using his penis to insert it into my virgina. Witness said she felt very bad and she was feeling pains. Witness said that the accused threatens her that if she tells anybody he will kill her and she was afraid and she decided to keep the secret to herself. Witness said she went home and started crying. Witness said she saw blood oozing from her virgina. Witness said her mother took her to the police station to make statement and they issued them with police medical report form and later they went to the Rainbow Initiative hospital.
Under cross examination, defense Lawyer Cyril Taylor Young asked when she went to the police station did the police come to the scene. The witness said yes. Defense counsel asked which hospital she went to. Witness said they went to two hospitals the first one was an area hospital and later they went to the Rainbow Initiative hospital.
Lawyer representing the state is Musa Pious Sesay while Lawyer Cyril Taylor Young is representing the accused person.
The matter has been adjourned to the 20th September, 2021.