BY MOHAMED MANSARAY IN KENEMA.
Nabieu Jalloh, a herbalist of Foindu Mawin Village, Kailahun District, has been convicted and sentenced to Nine years (9yrs.) imprisonment by Hon. Justice Francis Banks-Kamara of the High Court for rape contrary to Sec.2 (ii) of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act No.8 of 2019.
According to the prosecution, the accused on January 28, 2023 at Ndeima village, Pejeh Bongrey Chiefdom, Kailahun unlawfully had Sexual intercourse with a child above the age of eighteen years.
The Accused pleaded guilty and begged for mercy. He was sentenced to Nine years (9yrs.) Imprisonment.
In plea mitigation, defense counsel Samuel Samharding Pessima Esq., of Legal Aid Board Sierra Leone in the Kailahun District asked for mercy. According to him, the Accused, Nabieu Jalloh is very young and did not waste the Court’s time and has also learnt his lesson in a bitter way. “He is a first-time offender and he would not do it again,” Lawyer Pessima added.
In his ruling, Justice Banks-Kamara having read the entire Court documents and said that the crime is very degrading to women in their community and Sierra Leone as a whole. He therefore convicted and sentenced the Accused to a jail term of Nine years (9yrs.) effective from the date of his arrest.
The matter was prosecuted by Daniel Mansaray, State Counsel and Customary Law Officer in the Kailahun District.