Court records available to AYV clearly indicated that cases relating to sexual penetration of a child under the age of eighteen years old is on the increase, according to the just-concluded November 2019 Call-Over Session of the High Court of Sierra Leone, which recorded the highest number of sexual penetration cases committed to various high courts including those under adjudication in magistrate and high courts countrywide.
In a calculated and desperate posture to discourage this awful trend, Hon. Justice Alusine Sesay presiding over the High Court No.1 at Siaka Stevens Street has remanded an alleged sex abuser, Alie Sesay for the offence of Sexual Penetration of a Child.
The accused person is alleged to have penetrated the sex organ of a child under the age of eighteen years, and that he committed the offence between 10th June and 16th June 2019, in the Freetown Judicial District in the Western Area in the Republic of Sierra Leone.
When the charge was read to the alleged sex offender, Alie Sesay who claimed to be a deportee from Libya, pleaded not guilty and started crying openly in court.
The presiding Judge Hon. Justice Alusine Sesay told the court that he would not grant bail to the accused person, especially on his first appearance as he considers the offense is of very serious nature.
He noted that if an accused person is found culpable for committing such offence, the penalty is life imprisonment.
Hon. Justice Alusine Sesay later ordered that the alleged sex offender, Alie Sesay be relocated at the Male Correctional Centre at Pademba Road in Freetown.
He also expressed concern over the non-appearance of accused persons who had been granted bail, but were not served the relevant papers by the Bailiff Department for them to continue with the trial process.
Meanwhile, Hon. Justice Alusine Sesay cautioned and discharged a twenty years old man, Abdul Bangura for Attempted Suicide.
According to the Charge Sheet, Abdul Bangura wanted to take his own life in Tombo with a cloth, which he had tied around his neck, before he was arrested by police officers.
He is said to have admitted to the police that indeed, he wanted to take his own life, but when the presiding judge asked him whether he wanted to kill himself, he responded in the negative.
Hon Justice Alusine Sesay admonished Abdul Bangura to add value to his life by building a strong faith in God, rather than trying to kill himself.
Counsel for Abdul Bangura, Onikeh Spencer-Coker from the Legal Aid Board appealed to the presiding judge to issue an order for officials at the Ministry of Social Welfare to look into her client’s case for counseling.
