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Justice Santigie Ibrahim Sorie Bangura, presiding at the High Court in Kono, has sentenced Ibrahim Bockarie to fifteen years imprisonment at the Male Correctional Facility in Kono after finding him guilty of sexual penetration of a 14 years old child
The defendant was before the court on one count charge of sexual penetration of a child, contrary to Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Act 2012 (Act No. 12 of 2012), as repealed and replaced by Section 4(a)(iii) of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2019 (Act No. 8 of 2019).
According to the indictment, on 22nd February 2025, at the Kono Judicial District in the Eastern Province of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the convict engaged in an act of sexual penetration with a girl under the age of eighteen years, to wit fourteen years old.
State Prosecutor Charles Foday Sesay Esq informed the court that the convict had no previous criminal record.
In his plea in mitigation, defence counsel Alpha Osman Kamara Esq submitted that the convict is a first-time offender and a young man capable of reform.
He urged the court to temper justice with mercy and consider imposing a lesser sentence.
In his ruling, Justice Bangura stated that he had considered the allocutus of the convict and the plea in mitigation, including the fact that the convict did not waste the court’s time. However, he described the offence as despicable and emphasized the need for the court to take a firm stance in addressing the growing menace of sexual abuse against children in society.
He therefore sentenced the convict to fifteen years imprisonment.
