By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
A 13-year-old girl has died in Saclepea after being raped by a man, 31 in Liberia’s northeastern Nimba County, which is situated 186 kilometers from Monrovia.
Recently, rape was declared a National Emergency by President George Weah and the government promised to expedite the handling of rape cases across the country, a menace that has witness an upsurge in recent times.
Junior Tokpa is said to be an adopted child of popular businesswoman whose business the suspect has been in charge of, including the victim prior to the commission of the act after the mother fell sick and came to Monrovia for treatment.
While everyone had gone to bed one night, Suspect Tokpa is alleged to have left his room and entered into the room in which the victim and two other children were asleep and covered the deceased’s mouth with a pillow and began sexually molesting her.
He reportedly threatened to kill her if she reported his alleged sexual act to anyone.
Out of apparent fear, the victim didn’t tell anyone until she fell severely ill to the extent that she stopped eating for days, causing her elder sister, Tutu to start interrogating her.
It was during the questioning that the victim opened up and narrated all that suspect Tokpa did to her.
After the victim narrated the incident to her sister, she immediately reported the matter to the police on Friday, October 30, 2020, with the victim dying a day later at a local hospital where she had been taken for treatment. Medical records revealed she was raped.
The suspect is reported to have been taken to Sanniquellie for safety after an angry crowd rushed to attack him and the business he was managing.