Published: April 2, 2026
MONROVIA – The Assigned Circuit Judge for the 3rd Judicial Circuit Court of Sinoe County, His Honor Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh, has sentenced a 32-year-old man, Prince Deyowon, to 30 years in prison for raping a four-year-old child.
According to court records, the incident occurred on the evening of August 23, 2025, in Dortroken, Jaedae District.
The prosecution established that the victim’s mother briefly left her child in the company of the defendant and two other minors under a tent, where they were watching videos on a mobile phone.
While the mother attended to a customer nearby, the defendant allegedly took advantage of the situation and sexually assaulted the minor.
The court heard that upon returning, the mother later noticed her child in distress. The minor subsequently drew her attention to what had happened. A physical check revealed that the child was bleeding profusely, prompting an immediate report to the town chief.
Following the report, the defendant fled the area but was arrested the next day, August 24, 2025, in Fortiagbo Town.
Due to logistical challenges, the child was taken to Francis J. Grant Hospital in Greenville on September 8, 2025. Medical testimony presented in court revealed that the child suffered serious injuries consistent with sexual assault.
The attending nurse, Mr. Kulubah Zawu, testified that examination showed the child’s hymen was broken, with bruises, redness, and tenderness observed along the vaginal wall. He further indicated that the child was also suffering from malaria and low blood at the time of admission.
When arraigned on March 4, 2026, Deyowon pleaded not guilty and opted for a bench trial.
Given the victim’s young age, the court conducted a competency test in line with Liberian legal precedent and ruled that the child was not suitable to testify.
During the trial, which lasted approximately three weeks, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of the child’s mother, medical evidence, and police investigation.
The defendant denied the allegations but admitted he was present with the child at the time, stating he left only when the mother returned.
In his ruling, Judge Wesseh emphasized the importance of circumstantial evidence in criminal cases, particularly those involving crimes committed in secrecy.
He cited a 2023 Supreme Court of Liberia opinion in Kollie Buway v. Republic, noting that circumstantial evidence can be sufficient to establish guilt when it forms a consistent and compelling chain.
Judge Wesseh distinguished the present case, stating that the evidence against Deyowon was coherent and credible, unlike the contradictions seen in the Moore case.
The court upheld its guilty verdict delivered on March 30, 2026, and sentenced Prince Deyowon to 30 years imprisonment.
He is to serve his sentence at the National Palace of Corrections in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County.
Judge Wesseh continued and said, ‘However, during the trial, the alleged victim testified in camera that the defendant had sexual intercourse with her vaginally. Also, the WACPS officer testified in court during that trial and highlighted these inconsistencies when he stated that Defendant Moore had sexual intercourse with the alleged victim vaginally, which the court deemed a complete deviation from the records before it.
While rendering his judgment, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, Judge Wesseh said “rape is a felony of the first degree, wherein the victim is less than 18 years of age, at the time of the offense; and the actor is 18 years or older and said that the maximum sentence for a first degree rape is life imprisonment, with a minimum of ten years”’ he then said “this court therefore says that the act of the defendant is graded as a first degree rape”, since he was above eighteen while the child is of a tender age of four.
He also said that “This court also takes note of the general sentencing regime, as provided for in section 50.5(a); (sentence to death or imprisonment); which says” a person who has been convicted of a felony of the first degree may be sentenced as follows; “for a felony of the first degree to life or life imprisonment where such penalty is specified by statute; or where not specified to a definite term of imprisonment to be fixed by the court, the maximum shall be ten years”.
Judge Wesseh also continued and said” that given the facts and circumstances attending this case, wherein the child being a minor of a tender age of 4 years, and where in Defendant Deyowon, age 31, was left in care of the child, when her mother went out; is considered by this court as a dereliction of his fiduciary to the child, as such his lack of duty of care to the minor, at that instance, is considered by this court as an aggravating circumstance that warrant a tougher sanction.
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