A 43-year-old local gold miner, Saah Bundor, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the rape of two minors, aged 9 and 11, in ITI, Rivercess County. The ruling was handed down by His Honor Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh, Assigned Circuit Judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit Court, on Saturday, June 28, 2025.
According to the indictment, on May 24, 2025, the two victims were at a nearby dumpsite when Bundor abducted them, took them into the bush, and sexually assaulted them. Afterward, he allegedly gave them LRD 1,000 and threatened to kill them if they reported the incident to their parents.
The defendant fled the area but was arrested by police the following day. Medical examinations confirmed the girls had suffered broken hymens, vaginal lacerations, and infections.
Bundor pleaded not guilty when arraigned on June 10, 2025, prompting a jury trial. Over nearly three weeks, the prosecution presented seven witnesses and two rebuttal witnesses, while the defense called Bundor and a local town chairwoman to testify.
Following final arguments on June 26, the jury deliberated and returned a unanimous guilty verdict.
In his judgment, Judge Wesseh emphasized that rape of minors under 18 by an adult constitutes a first-degree felony, punishable by life imprisonment under Liberian law. However, due to the absence of a Probation Service in Rivercess County to assess Bundor’s prior conduct, the court opted for a 50-year sentence instead of life imprisonment.
Judge Wesseh urged the Ministry of Justice to expand probation services across Liberia to assist courts in future sentencing decisions. He described Bundor’s actions as “tantamount to mass rape” and a “breach of his fiduciary duty to the victims.”
Bundor’s defense counsel, Cllr. James D. Kaba, has announced plans to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court of Liberia.
The convicted rapist will serve his sentence at the National Palace of Corrections in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, or the Monrovia Central Prison.
