By Sahr Ibrahim Komba
23rd February, 2021 (SALONE TIMES)
FREETOWN – On the 17th February 2021, Justice Momoh Jah Steven sentenced a 45-year-old Frederick Davies to 15 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of sexually penetrating a 15-year-old daughter of his girlfriend and getting her pregnant.
In his ruling, Justice Momoh Jah Steven having examined the Evidence, it was established that all the accused said to the police was nothing but a lie to cover-up his “bad deed” adding that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
He added that the prosecution must prove that indeed the accused engages in an act of sexual penetration with a child and that at the time of offence the victim was under the age of 18 years.
The prosecution led in evidence four witnesses during the course of the trial but the victim in the matter was nowhere to be found to testify in respect of the matter, expect police officers and one Dr. Olabisi Cole who examined the victim.
In her testimony Dr. Cole told the court that the victim’s hymen was ruptured and that such rupture could be caused by sexual penetration or bike riding but that she couldn’t tell when the rupture occurred.
In her statement to the police, the victim said that the accused person is her mother’s boyfriend and she was 15 years old. She explained that on the day of the incident, her mother sent her to the house of the accused and when she arrived there, the accused advise her to stay away from boyfriends because her mother was doing everything for her.
She added that later in the day, the accused told her that he loved her so much and asked her to remove her pants and went on to penetrate her with his fingers and warned her not to tell anyone about it.
She went on to say at another time she asked the accused for food and he offered her a cup of tea and bread and later take her inside his house and sexually penetrated her.
The victim revealed to the police that few months after the incident, she realized that she had missed her monthly cycle and confided in her friend because she was afraid to tell her mother, few months later my mother notice she said. Her mother took her to the hospital where she was confirmed pregnant.
The state prosecutor, Jane B Kamara said the incident took place on the 1st October 2020, at Laka in the western Rural area of Freetown.
