By Saio Marrah
Justice Komba Kamanda of the High Court in Freetown has sentenced one Moses Adu to 10 years imprisonment after finding him guilty of sexually penetrating a girl.
Delivering his judgment on Thursday 6th July 2023, the judge said the victim testified that she was alone at home when the accused, who was their neighbor and security personnel, knocked on the door, pushed and entered. The accused then grabbed her, tore her pants and sexually assaulted her and that she was a virgin at the time.
According to the evidence, on another day the accused took her on his bike to a bush were he also raped her.
According to Justice Kamanda, the second prosecution witness, the grandmother of the victim, testified that on 1 November 2021, she had left the victim home when she went to her business place, but realizing that she left her mobile phone back home she decided to return and collect it. Upon arrival on a motorbike, she saw the accused running out of her compound and that she then went into the house to find the victim bathing for the second time that morning.
She said she then saw blood and a substance that looked like semen on the leg of the victim which forced her to shout and attract neighbors who rushed to the scene.
According to the evidence the victim earlier refused to talk about the incident until she was told that she would be taken to a police station. She then identified the accused as the man who raped her.
Justice Kamanda noted that because the accused absconded for almost six months and then changed his job from being a security guard to a bike rider at night demonstrates that he wanted to change his identity and cover up for the crime.
The presiding judge also noted that the accused did not make any effort to go to the police to clear his name after being accused of the crime.
Responding to the claim by the accused that he was arranging his mother’s burial rites during those six months, the judge said no man with common sense would perform such rites for that period and not bring evidence to confirm that in court.
The judge reduced the sentence to 10 years because Adu was a first time offender.
At the pronouncement of the sentence, the convict shouted “Jesus”. State prosecutor Isaac Yusif Sesay had asked for 15 years.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (10/07/23)
