By Francis H. Murray
A 13-year old girl who was allegedly gang raped by three men has testified before Justice Manuela Jennifer Harding at the sexual offences division of the High Court in Freetown.
Led in evidence by State prosecutor Robin Mason Jr. on Friday 25th September, 2020, the witness described herself as a school pupil and recognized the accused person.
She recalled that on the evening of 31st of March 2020 at about 8pm, she was home with her father as he prepared to leave for work. She said before her father left he took her to a lady in the neighborhood and asked her “to look after me.” She said that after a while, she decided to go out and look for her father in the garage close to their house but she could not find him.
The witness said: ‘‘On my way, I saw three people including the accused. They grabbed me and took me to a certain place that was not too far from the garage and tied me up and Lamin Koroma (the accused) placed a piece of cloth in my mouth so that I could not be heard shouting. He removed my skirts and pants, climbed on top of me and attempted to insert his penis into my vagina but he couldn’t penetrate me. So he called the other man named Idrissa who came and also climbed on top of me and inserted his penis into my vagina and this time, he was able to penetrate me. The other one also came and climbed on top of me and sexually penetrated me. When he was done with me, Lamin came for the second time and also penetrated me.’’
She said they then left her naked as she bled from her vagina, adding that she struggled to get up and get dressed to return home. ‘‘So when I got home, my daddy asked me where I had been in a threatening manner but I refused to tell him that night until the following morning. We then went to the Akon police station where a statement was obtained from me. Police officers from the Family Support Unit came to the scene the following day and I identified those who raped me, including the accused person. As the police tried to arrest them, two escaped,’’ she added.
The 13-year old said she was examined at the Rainbo Center, located at the Princess Christian Maternity Hospital and given a medical certificate.
Under cross-examination by Lawyer Randy Bangura from the Legal Aid Board, the witness said she sat to the just concluded Basic Education Certificate Exanimation (BECE) and denied having any voter registration card.
When challenged that because the alleged incident occurred at night, she could not have been able to identify anybody, the witness replied, saying that she was able to see the three men with the aid of the headlights of vehicles that passed by.
She added that the incident was her first experience with sex and that her father took her to the Rainbo Center a day after the incident, stressing that while they were there, the doctor only spoke to her father.
Lawyer Bangura told the court that the accused person was not among those who had allegedly abused the victim. In reply, the witness said the accused person was among her abusers and that she had “a clean bath” after the incident before she went to bed.
The witness said the threat from her father caused her to explain what had happened culminating into the matter being reported to the police and that she had seen the accused person before at the garage where her father used to service his vehicle.
The accused, who is 18, was remanded in custody and the matter adjourned to the 8th October 2020.
The prosecution alleges that the accused person, Lamin Koroma, on the 31st March 2020, at Goderich in the Western Area of Freetown, sexually penetrated a girl below the age of 18.
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