By Amadou Jadama
Corporal Landing Badjie, a police officer at the Serekunda Police Station is standing trial at the Brikama Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl.
Corporal Badjie was said to have had a carnal knowledge with the girl at Lamin village in 2018.
Giving her testimony as the first prosecution witness, the victim who lives in Coastal Road explained.
“It happened one day when my mother sent me to help my aunt with her laundry.
The following day, my aunty went to the market leaving me alone in the compound.
As I was taking breakfast, the accused came to the house; he held my hand and pushed me into the sleeping room.
He then undressed and removed the towel I was wearing and forced himself on me,” she told the court.
The witness further said the accused struggled to have carnal knowledge of her and after a long struggle he got up.
“When that happened, I saw blood oozing from my private parts, and I also saw some white liquid from his penis.
Thereafter, I struggled to stand up and I felt pain,” she narrated.
According to the victim, she then removed the bed sheet and replaced with another after she took bath and lay in bed until her aunt returned.
”She asked me what happen and I told her nothing. She further asked me whether I had taken any medicine I told her yes,” she said.
The victim narrated that the following night, the accused came and found her in bed, removed her underwear and did it again.
“After those two sexual encounters with the accused, I fell sick and also missed my menstruation that month,” she said.
At this juncture, the police prosecutor Sgt 2259 Ceesay asked the victim how her parents came to know about the incident.
She said her aunt had become suspicious that she was not seeing her period and even sent another woman, the wife of the accused, to find out whether she was normal.
The witness said her friend was also involved in finding out what had happened to her.
According to her, her aunt later realised that she was pregnant.
Under cross examination, the accused said he was not the first person to have carnal knowledge of her and that he has had it with her several times. But the witness told the accused that he was the first man she had with.
The accused insisted that he had it with the victim several times including in his wife’s bed. But the witness said it was only twice.
“The first day we had it, there was no blood and I even asked you whether you ever had it before and you said you had one with an uncle who you said was the one who defiled you,” the accused told the victim.
But in reply the victim maintained that that was not true.
The accused person also argued that one day, the victim told him that they should end their love affair because his wife had suspected something. But again the victim said that was not true.
At this point the Magistrate intervened to ask the witness whether the accused struggled to enter her or did he easily penetrate her.
The witness said the accused forced himself into her.
The matter was adjourned to 29 July for continuation with prosecution witness number 2 expecting to testify.
