By Theo Gippley
FISH TOWN, Liberia- As rape and sexual abuse cases continue to rise in Liberia, a 12-year-old girl has this week become the latest victim of this crime in River Gee County, southeastern Liberia.
The girl was allegedly gang raped on Sunday, was, gang raped by four boys in one of the classrooms of the Fish Town Community School on on Sunday, June 19, 2022.
Rape is a nonbailable crime in Liberia, according to the law. Because of the rising rape cases in this West African country, President George Weah last year declared the menace as “a national emergency”.
According to the victim, her mother, Elizabeth, had sent her to buy bread and tea and she was accompanied by her little sister.
Leaving their Jayproken road, the minor said one of the guys came their way and asked her to give them the money meant to buy her mother’s bread and tea, something she refused to do. The boys then seized her by knife point and drove her little sister away. The other was carrying cissors.
According to Alfred Sieh, the security officer on duty at the Fish Town Community School, he heard noise in one of the classrooms and notice someone crying.
“When I flash the light, I saw someone running from the classroom so I cut off the light and walk to the class, I flash the light and stood by the door and saw three boys and the girl on the ground crying saying they have raped her,”, security officer Sieh narrated.
But the other boy whose father is a police officer assigned in Karwenken, Albert Norring, son named Alpha Norring claimed that the victim is his girlfriend.
The Security officer further said when “I was asking him what the other three boys were doing there then they got scare and ran out, so I call the school principal to report the matter,”
The principal of the school, Madam Teresa Chea, confirmed that the security officer reported the alleged gang rape case to her by 1:28 Am GMT, but was able to call Radio Gee and officer Agatha Potee, head of the Liberia National Police Women and Children Protection Section by 5am.
According the school authorities, the two persons identified by the victim and the security guard were former students of the institution.
Seated on a wooden chair in the office of the principal awaiting police arrival, the victim with teary eyes said the the other boy one of the perpetrators) Andrew Toe, popularly known as Terry, is a son to one of the official’s drivers.
According to sources, the son of the police officer is a regularly in police cells. He was recently jailed for allegedly stealing someone’s phone and money. He is said to be leading member of a group of thugs operating in Fish Town, River Gee County.
By press time, the father of the rape survivor and the police had to take the victim to the hospital.