PHOTO; Pastor James Kollie to face new rape trial
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia-Trial jurors have brought down a hung verdict in the case of alleged rape involving the founder and general overseer of the Community Revival Church in Monrovia’s Logan Town suburb, Pastor James Kollie.
According to court document, five out of twelve voted not guilty while seven came down with guilty verdict against the Christian cleric on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.
A hung verdict is when the jurors in a criminal or civil trial cannot reach an agreement as to the verdict. Most jurisdictions require a unanimous jury decision for verdicts. This means all jurors have to agree on guilt or innocence to render a trial complete.
As rape in Liberia is a nonbailable crime, the Revival Church James Kollie, age 52, was jailed months ago at the Monrovia Central Prison by the Monrovia City Court for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in the name of spiritual cleansing.
This latest hung verdict by the Jury means that defendant Kollie was neither convicted nor acquitted and he has been sent to the Monrovia Central prison to await new trial.
In the event that there’s no three-fourth majority verdict, the jury is disbanded, and a new jury empanelled and a new trial is to be held.
Background to the case
On June 9, 2020, relatives of the rape survivor reported at the Liberia National Police (LNP) Women and Children Protection Section Central headquarters in Monrovia and alleged that his 13-year-old niece had been repeatedly sexually abused by Defendant James Kollie.
According to police charge sheet, complainant of the victim alleged that in July of 2017, he carried his 10year old niece by then to defendant Kollie Church in Logan town for deliverance, because she was sick where she remained up to June 6,2020, when he the complainant wife went to the victim to spend time with them.
The police charge sheet further disclosed that when the victim came home, she told the complainant and his wife that defendant James Kollie had repeatedly sexually abused her and from his interview with the victim, it appears that pastor Kollie has been having sex with the victim since 2019.
During an interview conducted with the victim, she told the investigators that in 2017, her mother’s name withheld carried her to defendant Kollie Church because she was sick.
The victim further disclosed that when she was at the church, most time at night defendant Kollie will take her from in the church building, carried her in his room, undressed her and also undressed himself and insert his penis inside her private part.
While having sexual intercourse with her, he usually kissed her mouth and sucked her breast and even went ahead threatening her that if she tells anyone, he will not buy anything for her to eat, the rape survivor explained.
Explaining further, the victim to the investigator that defendant Kollie has had sex with her by inserting his penis her private part several times both in his room and bathroom.
The Police charge sheet didn’t mention the side of the defendant but in an exclusive interview with him at the Monrovia City Court, defendant Kollie denied the allegation against him.
“In view of the fact and circumstances gathered during the investigation couple with the findings in the medical report, which is consistent with the allegation, the investigator has charged defendant Kollie with the crime of rape in violation of section 14.70(a)(I)(b) of the new rape law of Liberia and pending trial before court,” said Police Charge Sheet.