Monrovia – The Victor E. Ward Fund is helping to get justice for 13-year-old Musu Mulbah (not her real name), who was allegedly raped twice by her 39-year-old teacher, Jessie Smith. Smith is also the registrar of the school.
According to the Ward Fund’s founder and CEO, Ms. Vickie Ward, little Musu had her fist nightmare on June 21st and two days later on the 23rd, the same perpetrator again forced himself on her.
The 4th grader attends the Fasia Kromah Public School, where Smith teaches, in David Cooper Farm, Margibi County.
Little Musu told the Ward Fund’s social worker, who visited the village, that the first time she was raped, was in a nearby bush of her school campus. According to her, the school was about to close and they were asked to do cleanup of the place. It was after work, when she was leaving campus that Smith called her and reportedly asked her: “Since I told you to tell your friend that I like her you have not done it ehn?” When Musu told him that she was small for what he was saying, he allegedly responded, “Since you didn’t tell her, you are going to take her place,” she stated.
According to her, after the incident, she told a friend by the name Josephine, who promised to tell her (Musu’s) grandmother, Ma Garmai Mulbah. Musu said she was afraid to tell her grand mom because her grand mom is a no ‘nonsense woman.’
Musu further narrated that the second incident which happened on the 23rd, took place when she was on her way to the village creek. She saw this same teacher, who followed her to the creek and dragged her into the bush and raped her again.
According to Musu, she told another friend, who began to spread it to other friends. This is how it spread in the village until her grandma and uncle heard it and reported it to the police in Kakata. Officers from the police depot arrested Smith, who spent five days in prison and was released unbeknownst to the complainers.
Musu’s grandma said Smith showed up in the town and began taunting them.
Ma Garmai said she turned to the media because when she went back to the police to find out, the police commander allegedly told her since she didn’t have money to fight her case, it won’t go anywhere so she must forget about it and go home.
At this point she broke down with tears and one passerby recorded her and this person posted the clip to Facebook.
According to reports from the village, this is not the accused first time being suspected of rape. He is accused of making an attempt on his niece, another 13-year-old, Elizabeth Smith. Just as he was about to succeed, he was caught in the act by his previous wife, who divorced him because of this act.
He is accused of raping the daughter of a pastor and the matter was settled in-house. Again there is another story that he impregnated his teenaged stepdaughter of his present wife.
However, the principal of Fasia Kromah Public School, Mr. Joseph B. Kpaingbeh, told this newspaper that the incident didn’t happen because the family didn’t first report it to the school authority. According to him, he only got to know about it from the police in Kakata and that what he had heard was that it was attempted rape. The report from the hospital tells another story that indeed the minor was tempered with.