Lawyer of the Salala District Court accused of raping a minor

Bong, District – Police in Bong have charged and brought to trial Salalah District Court prosecutor Edwin Kopoi for allegedly raping his 16-year-old cousin.

Police charged the 37-year-old suspect with rape, simple assault and human trafficking. Kopoi is being held at Gbarnga Central Prison pending his trial, while the child is being housed in a secure home in Bong.

Police investigations revealed that Kopoi allegedly committed the crime on July 9 in Salalah, where he is stationed.

The victim told police that Kopoi brought her from Sierra Leone to Liberia in February this year to live with him while she attended school. However, when she arrived in Liberia, he refused to send her to school.

The victim, whose name is not being disclosed because she is a minor, told police that Kopoi first raped her in Monrovia on her way from Sierra Leone.

She told police that her uncle often stripped her naked and beat her when she did something wrong at home.

She told police that Kopoi also gave her alcoholic drinks to drink before sex and that he threatened to kill her if she told anyone. The victim said she reported her uncle to some community members because she could no longer bear the abuse.

Kopoi admitted to hitting the victim several times and stripping her naked, but denied having sex with her.

Meanwhile, the police indictment states that the charges against Kopoi were based on physical evidence, scars on the victim’s body, witness statements and medical reports.

Featured photo by Patrick Tokpah