By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Justice Momoh Jah-Stevens has on Wednesday 30th July 2021 sentenced one Joseph Lamin to life imprisonment at the High Court in Freetown for sexually penetrating a 9-year-old class 2 pupil in Freetown.
Medical reports from the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital (PCMH) also known as Cottage, stated that Lamin penetrated the child in both anus and vagina. The report also stated that the child suffered several bruises on her face.
The convict was arraigned at the Sexual Model Court for sexual penetration contrary to section 19 of the Sexual Offences Act No.12 of 2012 as repealed and replaced by Section 4 of the Sexual Offences Act of 2019 as amended.
The child, in her testimony, had told the court that Lamin together with an unidentified person grabbed her while she went out to urinate at night. The minor had said that the perpetrator and his accomplice had threatened to kill her if she shouted. She said that Lamin penetrated her during that process.
The father of the child, during his testimony, had said that he noticed his child’s entrance only after the creaking of the door. He added that in the morning, his daughter was trembling and that he had to leave for a friend’s place as he was not feeling bright the previous day. He said he left the child in the care of the mother.
The mother had also told the court that she witnessed some abnormalities from her child that morning and that the child appeared frail and feeble. She had also testified that she later learnt that her daughter had been raped. She said the act had caused her daughter to bleed which made her lose blood one of the reason she was admitted to Cottage Hospital where she spent 1 month 2 weeks.
Justice Momoh Jah-Stevens, in delivering his judgment referenced Woolmington versus DPP and said that the accused was guilty as charged. He said that Lamin committed the offence with another person(s) and that he used a knife to threaten the victim and in the process occasioning bodily harm to the child and that the victim’s anus and virginity were affected. Joseph Lamin, who had been on remand since 2020, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Cyril Taylor-Young from Legal Aid Board pleaded for mitigation for his client, the accused. Musa Pious Sesay Jr. represented the state.
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