According to the particulars of offence, the two young men on or about the 21st day of December 2018, at Bakoteh in Kanifing Municipality in the Republic of The Gambia, unlawfully had a carnal knowledge of a girl (name withheld), thereby committed an offence (contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offence Act, 2013.
The purported victim, believed to be 16 years of ageat the time of the incident, alleged that she was pushed in the Bakoteh School Garden and raped, after which, she saw blood. She further said that one was holding her while the other did the act. As such, they were both charged with rape.
However, the suspect didn’t deny having intercourse with her, but said it was by her consent. He told the court that, she proposed to him, having lain in front of him and pulling up her skirt, and thus, he did the act.
The other accused who allegedly aided in committing the crime debunked the young girl’s allegations. He told the court, he met them at the school garden having sexual intercourse. He screamed and ran away.
Magistrate Isatou Janneh Njie, told the court that having intercourse with a person without her consent amounts to rape, but in this case the purported victim was mentally and physically incapable of consenting or not, since she was 16 years as she said. “However, there had been no evidence brought before court to prove that the girl was 16 years of age,” the magistrate disclosed to the court. There was no medical evidence to prove that the girl was raped or to suggest that there was blood due to rape, the magistrate told the court.
Therefore, due to what had been mentioned above, the two young men were acquitted and discharged by the court.
