By Francis H. Murray
Justice Momoh Jah Stevens has sentenced 45 year-old Frederick Davies to 15 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of sexually penetrating the 15 year-old daughter of his girlfriend and getting her pregnant.
In his ruling on Wednesday 17th February 2021, Justice Stevens said having examined the evidence, it was established that all the accused told 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 engaged in an act of sexual penetration with a child and that at the time of the offence the victim was under the age of 18 years and that the accused had the intention at the time of the incident.
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, except for police officers and one Dr. Olabisi Cole who examined the victim.
Doctor Cole in her testimony 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 said rupture occurred.
The victim in her statement to the police narrated that she was a stepdaughter to the accused person and that she was 15 years old. She added that the accused was her mother’s boyfriend and that on the day of the incident, her mother sent her to the house of the accused and that when she arrived there, the accused advise her to stay away from boyfriends because her mother was doing everything for her.
She said later that day, the accused told her that he loved her very much and asked her to remove her pants and went on to penetrate her with his fingers and warned her not tell anyone about it.
She continued that at another time, she asked the convict for food and he offered her a cup of tea and bread and took her inside his house and sexually penetrated her.
She further told the police that few months after the incident, she realized that she had missed her menstrual cycle and she then confided in her friend because she was afraid to tell her mother, adding that few mother later her mother noticed her condition and took her to the hospital where she was confirmed pregnant.
The State Prosecutor, Jane B Kamara said the incident took place on 1st October 2020, at Laka in the Western Rural Area of Freetown.
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