By Mabinty M. Kamara
Police in Grafton Village are investigating an alleged sexual penetration of a 13-year-old girl. The girl who is dumb and partially deaf was sexually penetrated by 27 year old Joseph Samuel Bassie.
The mother of the victim, explained to Politico that on the day of the incident, the perpetrator sneaked into the house using the back entrance to commit the heinous crime.
“In the evening by 7:00pm, he entered the house using the back gate, since I was in my shop, which we mostly use as entrance to the house since the main gate is always closed. My second daughter ran and called me, saying Samuel had entered their room. So, I hurriedly came in, met the door halfway closed and lights turned off. So, I turned on the light and saw Samuel’s pants down having sex with my girl,” she explained, in tears.
She added: “I then stood at the door and sent for someone because at that time my battery was down. So, the witness also came and saw the incident.”
The witness to the incident is Isaiah Turay, friend of Bassie. Both of them are residing with a Bishop in a church at Kossoh Town, New London.
Following this incident, the family reported the matter the next morning at the Grafton Police Station. Bassie was arrested by the Police but was released after spending six days in custody.
Bassie was bailed by his guardian, the Bishop.
Upon his release, Bassie reportedly returned to the compound where the incident took place. Family members of the victim said the ‘trauma’ of seeing the perpetrator around the area has not been easy.
They said the perpetrator has been making provocative statement and insinuating that the case might end with a settlement out of the legal system.
Under the new sexual offences law, settling a sexual assault case like rape can carry a fine of Le10 million or a jail term.
The victim’s father told Politico that the medical result from the Rainbow Center has confirmed that the girl was sexually penetrated. He said they were waiting for a second result to know if the girl hasn’t got any sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy as a result of the incident.
“I’m just waiting for the test result from the Rainbow Center to know if my daughter didn’t contract any sexually transmitted disease like AIDs, syphilis, gonorrhea, or pregnancy,” he said.
Turay, the friend of the accused, said he had warned the victim’s mother on the day of the incident to protect her daughters against Bassie, following a close encounter in which Bassie appeared to have attempted to sexually penetrate the same girl earlier in the day.
Turay’s account of the incident to Politico confirmed what the victim’s mother had already narrated.
“I later met him home and asked what came over him and he told me he was on alcohol but denied that he penetrated her (the victim),” Turay said.
The officer in charge of the investigation, known as Inspector Aminata, refused to grant interview to Politico about the circumstances surrounding the perpetrator’s release into the same community where he had allegedly committed a sexual crime.
Family members of the victim have expressed frustration over how Police has handled the case so far. And they feared that it could be compromised due to the Police’s apparent lackadaisical attitude toward the investigation.
“I just want to be law abiding but I know what to do if I notice that the police do not want to take the issue seriously. But I’m patiently waiting on the result from Rainbow Center,” the father of the victim said.
The results from Rainbow Center is expected on the 29th October.
Parents of the victim said she is attending school, despite the incident. They said they haven’t been able to explain the situation to school authorities because of concerns of how uncomfortable that might be for her.
© 2019 Politico Online
