By Louise Jobe
A Guinean national has been sentenced to eight years in prison for raping a 15-year-old grade nine student in the West Coast Region, after the court heard that the girl was about eight months pregnant.
Yunusa Jaiteh was sentenced by Magistrate A. Darboe at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, after pleading guilty to one count of rape under Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2013. The court also ordered Jaiteh to pay D150,000 in compensation to the girl. The court said he would serve an additional 10 years in prison if he failed to pay. Both prison terms will run concurrently.
When the case was called, Inspector M.L. Barrow appeared for the Inspector General of Police, while Jaiteh was present without legal representation. The charge was read and translated into a language he understood, and he pleaded guilty.
Presenting the facts, Inspector Barrow told the court that the girl sold ‘naana’ to Jaiteh and that he used the opportunity to give her money to have sex with him.
Barrow said the girl was 15 years old and attending grade nine. She was afraid to tell her mother about the sexual acts. The prosecutor told the court that the girl’s mother became concerned when her daughter missed her menstrual period. When she asked her daughter about it, the girl confirmed that she had not menstruated that month.
Barrow said the mother took her daughter to Brikama District Hospital for a medical examination. A doctor confirmed that the girl was about eight months pregnant. The prosecutor said the girl then told her mother that Jaiteh had been having sex with her for about eight months but that she had been afraid to disclose what had happened.
According to Barrow, the girl’s family confronted Jaiteh about the allegation, and he confessed. The matter was subsequently reported to Banjulinding Police Station. The prosecutor tendered the medical report, the girl’s birth certificate and Jaiteh’s cautionary statement as exhibits in court.
The charge sheet stated that Jaiteh committed the offence in the West Coast Region, in February 2026, by engaging in a sexual act with a 15-year-old girl through the use of physical force.
In his sentencing remarks, Magistrate Darboe said the court had considered the charge, the circumstances of the offence, the age and condition of the girl, and Jaiteh’s guilty plea. The magistrate said a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity was a mitigating factor because it showed acceptance of responsibility and spared the complainant and the prosecution the burden of a full trial. However, he said the value of the plea had to be considered alongside the seriousness of the offence and the harm caused to the victim.
“The court is further informed that the victim is heavily pregnant. This is a very significant consideration in assessing her vulnerability and the seriousness of the circumstances before the court,” the magistrate said.
The court noted that the girl was under 16 years old and that the charge involved the use of physical force.
Magistrate Darboe referred to Section 4(1)(a)(ii) of the Sexual Offences Act 2013, which provides for a minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for a first conviction in certain cases of rape committed under the coercive circumstances set out in Section 3(2).
The magistrate also referred to Section 4(2), which allows a court to impose a lesser sentence where substantial and compelling circumstances justify a departure from the prescribed sentence. Such circumstances must be recorded in the proceedings.
The court then sentenced Jaiteh to eight years’ imprisonment at Mile 2 Central Prison and ordered him to pay D150,000 in compensation to the girl. If he fails to pay, he will serve an additional 10 years in prison, with both terms running concurrently.
Explaining the sentence, the magistrate said rape was a grave violation of a person’s bodily integrity, dignity and personal security.
“The victim is a child who needs protection,” he said.
The magistrate added that the court had considered Jaiteh’s guilty plea but said the plea alone could not justify disregarding the minimum sentence prescribed by law.