Court sentences 62-year-old man to 10 years for attempted rape of 4-year-old in Nimba

Published: July 2, 2025

SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba County– The 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Nimba County on Tuesday sentenced a 62-year-old man to 10 years in prison for attempting to rape a 4-year-old girl in Ganta earlier this year.

Judge Musa S. Sidibey handed down the sentence against Harris Gleeman following a week-long bench trial before the court’s Sexual Offenses Division in Sanniquellie. The court found Gleeman guilty of criminal attempt to commit rape, a second-degree felony under Liberian law.

The crime occurred on March 9, 2025, when Gleeman lured the child to a secluded area behind a parked container in the LMPC Community, where both families reside. According to trial testimony and police reports, Gleeman persuaded the girl to undress before community members, suspicious of his movements, intervened and rescued the child.

A preliminary investigation by the Liberia National Police established that Gleeman intentionally took the child to a closed area with the aim of sexually assaulting her. The defendant later admitted during police interrogation that he attempted to rape the girl.

In May, the Nimba County Grand Jury returned a true bill indicting Gleeman for the crime.

Judge Sidibey, reading from the court’s final ruling, said the conviction and sentencing were based on “facts, evidence, and applicable laws,” including medical findings, eyewitness accounts, and a pre-sentence investigation report from the Ministry of Justice.

“The severity of the offense, wherein penetration is seen to have occurred, coupled with the probation report, informed this court’s sentencing decision,” the judge stated.

Under the ruling, Gleeman will serve six years at the Sanniquellie Central Prison. The remaining four years of his sentence have been suspended and will be served under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice’s Division of Probation.

“This court finds the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and hereby imposes a ten-year sentence,” Judge Sidibey declared. “It is hereby so ordered.”