By Amadou Jadama
The Brusubi magistrates’ court presided over by Senior Magistrate I Jallow yesterday convicted and sentenced one Yaya Camara to 28 years imprisonment with hard labour after he was found guilty of raping four women.
Camara was charged with four counts of rape but had denied all charges.
Prosecutors alleged that he opened a fake Facebook account in the name of a famous American politician Kevin McCarthy.
“Through his scheme, he would lure his victims by promising to secure them a US visa and in the process of doing that, he would recommend them to meet his supposed friend called Galycia at his house for DNA tests,” prosecutors told the court.
Prosecutors further adduced that when his victims turned up at his supposed friend Galycia’s house for the supposed DNA test, they discovered that it is the accused himself and there and then he would rape them and even impregnated one of them.
During the trial, some of the victims who testified claimed that the accused had sex with them without their consent, and they were made to believe he could get them an American visa.
In her judgement, Magistrate Jallow said the court relied on the digital forensic evidence tendered by the prosecution and the phone records of the accused person, which proved that the accused is operating a Facebook account in the name of Kevin McCarthy with his WhatsAPP number and account number in the name of Galycia.
“In the process of meeting the last victim was when the police arrested him,” the magistrate said.
Before the sentence was passed, the presiding magistrate asked the convict whether he had any plea of mitigation, and the convict, who was unrepresented, said: “I have nothing to beg from the court.”
At this juncture, the magistrate said the convict is not entitled to any reduction of sentence. “And having also considered that he wasted the court’s time by pleading not guilty to the charge and has shown no remorse for what he did, I shall use my inherent powers and impose what is reasonable under the circumstance. The convict is sentenced to imprisonment for 14 years in count one and another 14 on count two with hard labour. He shall pay a compensation to the complainants in the sum of D200,000 each and in default to serve four months,” the magistrate ruled.
The magistrate further ordered that the state facilitate psychosocial support for the victims.
