(JollofNews) – A local magistrate in the Gambia has sentenced a 40-year-old man for raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl.
Malang Tendeng of Mariama Kunda village, West Coast Region, Weston Division, is said to have lured the girl into his bedroom and forced himself on to her in February this year, resulting in her pregnancy.
Prosecutors said the girl had tried to fight off Tendeng but he overpowered her and used his hands to cover her mouth to stop her screaming before proceeding to forcefully rip off her clothes and having sex without her consent.
Prosecutors added when he finished with the girl, Tendeng threatened to kill her if she tells anyone about the rape.
They added that believing that Tendeng would make true his threat, the teenager failed to tell her parents until a few months later when her mum made the shocking discovery that she is pregnant.
“It was only after she was confronted by her mum that the teenager opened up to her mum and told her everything,” said Police Prosecutor ASP Singhateh.
The parents later reported the police who obtained a statement from the teenager before taking her to Sukuta Health Centre, where nurses confirmed that she was five months pregnant.
Prosecutors said Tendeng had denied having sex with the girl and being responsible for the pregnancy.
He also pleaded not guilty to the charges in court.
But in his verdict, Magistrate Omar Jabang of the Brusubi court said although Tendeng had denied the allegations, he has looked at the totality of the evidence produced in court including the teenager’s statement to the police and is satisfied that the prosecution have proved the case beyond any reasonable doubt.
He said the offence is a serious one as it involved a 40-year-old bloke and a child who is now five month pregnant.
“We don’t know whether she will have a successful delivery and even if she does, she will live with a big scar for the rest of her life,” he said.
“The act of the accused is callous and very evil and must be met with the full arm of the law to send signals that courts will not stand and watch whilst the cream of our society, especially girls, are destroyed by the people who are supposed to protect them.”
Despite Tendeng’s plea for the magistrate to temper justice with mercy, he was sentenced accordingly by the magistrate.
I think 10 years is a cheap way for the man in question.In the united States rape is the second serious crime after murder. Elsewhere around the world is life behind bars and in Islamic states stoning the criminal to death.Predators like this man should be kept out of our society for good.Allowing him on our streets after ten years is a huge blow to the victim who sadly will be 24 years old.Although such cases are rare in The Gambia however predators like this 40 year old man should given no mercy. He should be kept behind bars for life.What a shame.
Are you kidding me? Just 10 years for raping and impregnating a child? He should’ve gotten at least 40 years or more.
Was there any forensic done considering there is a department within GPF Headquaters? Will there be any DNA testing when the child is born? While I agree that rape is a serious crime, there need to be substantial evidence not just one to one. Who was the witness to the case? Why waited for five months to report the case? If the teenager was rape and disvigin, can’t her mom not discover that her daughter was in pain and bleeding? I have serious question the way criminal cases are handle sometimes especially at the old Yundum Police Station. That station needs to be completely change from the SO, Assistant SO, and The prosecutors.
So he gets 10 years , the mother gets a lifetime and the unborn child gets what?? Maybe they should have waited for the delivery to see who lives through it all and then decide on a punishment !! Children giving birth is not an easy thing and babies need support!
I think Pa Volley made a very good point, we always rush into judgment. How comes the mother as a woman did not see any changes in her daughter until after five months? When a woman becomes pregnant, during her three months she will vomit and get sick all the time. I am not condoning rape but how do we know for sure he raped her. The girl needs to be interview by police and investigators, its wrong to send a wrong man to jail for a crime he did not commit. What happened to him could happen to anyone. From what I understand, this is a hearsay and there are no independent witnesses. What if the girl was impregnated by a relative, say an uncle or even the father, things like that has happened in the past. In such a case the family will try to blame someone. I am not saying the guy didn’t rape her but where is the evidence? And why wait five months? The mother is a woman and has child before, how come she couldn’t read the signs that her daughter is pregnant?
I concur with those who raise questions about this judgement. According to the magistrate, the totality of the evidence, including the witness, was sufficient to convict, but I find this unconvincing.
A witness statement, no matter how convincing the witness be be, in the absence of conclusive forensic evidence, should not be relied upon to convict in a case like this, where only the accuser and accused are the “witnesses”. It’s the accusers words against the accused, who denied the charges, and I can’t see how the magistrate can safely convict.
And the sentence of 10 years is too lenient for rape, especially if the details as reported were established to be true. I hope the crime occurred and the right man was convicted. I hope the girl gets the required support to get through this and resume her normal life. She’s just a kid.