Montserrado Criminal Court Rejects Acquittal Bid in Rape Trial

Judge Wesseh Says Prosecution Evidence Requires Defense Response as Statutory Rape Trial Moves Forward Monrovia-Criminal Court “E” for Montserrado County has rejected a motion seeking the acquittal of 63-year-old Peter Bon Jallah, ruling that the prosecution’s evidence presented so far is not “wholly insufficient” to terminate the case before the defense has presented its evidence. In a ruling delivered Wednesday, September 30, Assigned Circuit Judge Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh, Sr. denied and dismissed Jallah’s Motion for Judgment of Acquittal, clearing the way for the defendant to take the witness stand as the trial enters a critical phase. Jallah is facing charges growing out of allegations of Gang Rape, Statutory Rape and Kidnapping involving a 16-year-old male. He has denied the allegations and opted for a bench trial. The ruling followed the prosecution’s presentation of 12 witnesses, including the alleged victim, police investigators, medical personnel and a Rwandan forensic expert who testified concerning DNA analysis. The defense had argued that inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s account, questions surrounding an alleged crime scene on Camp Johnson Road, the absence of a woman the victim said he encountered there, medical evidence and the DNA findings created sufficient doubt to warrant an immediate acquittal. But Judge Wesseh rejected the defenses position at this stage of the proceedings. ‘Premature’ to End Trial The court said granting the motion after the prosecution had rested would be premature, particularly because the prosecution had given notice that it could present rebuttal witnesses after the defense completes its case. The judge emphasized that a judgment of acquittal may be granted where the evidence is “wholly insufficient” to establish guilt, citing the Supreme Courts decision in Republic of Liberia v. Robert A. Smith, 25 LLR 207 (1976). According to the ruling, however, the evidence already produced by the prosecution provides sufficient grounds for the court to hear the defense before determining the case. The court also cited Potter v. Republic, 1 LLR 67, and Logan v. Republic, 33 LLR 434 (1985), in addressing the defenses arguments concerning alleged defects and inconsistencies in the indictment. Judge Wesseh said that if the defense believed the indictment was defective, it should have raised those objections through a motion to dismiss before trial. Defense Attacks Crime Scene Evidence A major component of the defenses motion centered on the alleged Camp Johnson Road location where the alleged victim said he was taken and sexually abused. The defense pointed to testimony from Police Officer Lindsey Gould, who reportedly told the court that investigators were unable to identify or locate the alleged crime scene. The defense argued that the alleged victims testimony concerning the unidentified location should therefore be stricken from the record and that the uncertainty surrounding the location created reasonable doubt. The court, however, declined to resolve the credibility and evidentiary disputes at the acquittal stage. The defense also highlighted alleged differences between the victims testimony and the police charge sheet concerning the dates and locations of the alleged sexual encounters at Jallahs Airfield residence. Medical, DNA Evidence Challenged The defense further attacked the prosecutions medical and forensic evidence. According to the ruling, defense lawyers argued that a medical nurse who testified about lacerations and bruises observed in the alleged victims anus did not conclusively state that the injuries were caused by rape. The defense also relied on the testimony of the Rwandan forensic expert, arguing that the DNA examination could not establish penetration or independently classify the alleged offenses as statutory rape or gang rape. The prosecution countered that it had established a prima facie case linking Jallah to the alleged crimes and urged the court to allow the tr