Monrovia — The Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National Police in Maryland County forwarded 39-year-old Health Worker Sylvester C. Wesseh of James Jenkins Dossen Memorial Hospital to court on August 22, 2023. Wesseh, an assigned nurse and civic health educator at the hospital's Out Patients Department (OPD), is accused of rape.
According to the police charge sheet, on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at 10:17 am, the 29-year-old complainant, Chinnie N. Weay, mother of the victim and a resident of Easy Town community in Harper City, reported to the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National WACPS in Harper. She alleged that her 16-year-old daughter was raped by 39-year-old Sylvester C. Wesseh, a Liberian Nurse at JJ Dossen Hospital at some point in 2023.
The victim recounted to security investigators that during an evening earlier this year (2023), while she and her brother, identified only as "Diamond," were on their way to buy mosquito coils, the 39-year-old suspect Sylvester C. Wesseh emerged from the bathroom and called the victim. While they were talking, the victim's 16-year-old brother, "Diamond," left, and the suspect entered his house. Later, he came back outside, called her closer to himself, and sexually abused her.
The police investigation revealed that as soon as the alleged rape was reported, the victim was sent to James Jenkins Dossen Memorial Hospital for medical examination, treatment, and a report, while the suspect was arrested and placed under investigation.
Meanwhile, a medical report from J. J. Dossen Referral Hospital disclosed that the victim is 12 weeks (three months) and 2 days pregnant. During the police investigation, the suspect was informed of his legal rights and was provided an opportunity to be represented by a lawyer. Eventually, the suspect admitted to the allegations against him.
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Based on the established facts, the suspect was charged with statutory rape and forwarded to the Harper City Magisterial Court for pretrial. He was later remanded to Harper Central Prison, where he will await a court trial during this year's November term. The Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National Police, led by its regional commander Chief Inspector Leona Gaye-Kangar, is dedicated to ensuring the protection of the rights of all Liberians, particularly women and children.
In an interview with our Maryland county correspondent, Monitor Boniface Nyemah of the Independent Commission on Human Rights expressed strong disapproval of the alleged rapist's inhumane act. Nyemah reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring fair justice for both the victim and the perpetrator through due legal processes. The human rights representative called on justice and human rights organizations to unite in combating and reducing violence against girls, women, and children.
