KAKATA, Margibi County- Police in Margibi County on Thursday, April 1 charged and sent to court a 31-year-old teacher for allegedly raping four primary school pupils placed under his supervision.
The incident is said to have occurred on separate occasions at the victims’ Greater Tomorrow Child Development International School campus in Mandingo Quarter Community in Kakata where the suspect serves as teacher and registrar.
Suspect Mohammed V.S. Talawillay was on Friday, March 26 arrested and detained by police following complaints filed against him by the victims’ (nameswithheld) parents.
The father of the victim who first alerted the incidenttold investigators that his 6-year-old daughter was sexually abused by defendant Talawillay on her school campus.
He alleged that his daughter narrated to him that on the day of the incident she had gone to urinate in the school’s bathroom when suspect Talawillay followed and inserted his finger (thumb) into her private part.
The victim’s father quoted his daughter that after been abused by her teacher (suspect Talawillay), he threatened to ban her from attending the school if she dare to leak out what happened between them.
“My teacher told me that if I tell my ma then I will not go back to school”, the victim said.
She alleged that due to the threat she didn’t tell any of her friends and mother at home. She told policeinvestigation that she started getting sick which led her to tell her mother and one of her aunties what her teacher (suspect Talawillay) did to her on campus.
The second rape victim explaining her ordeal said that just on the day of the suspect arrest on Friday, March 26, the suspect Talawillay followed her into the bathroom and told her that he had followed her to aid in putting up her underclothes at which time she alleged that he inserted his thumb into her private part.
The third rape survivor narrating her encounter with the suspect told police investigators that once on their school campus her teacher (suspect Talawillay) told her to help him take care of a minor when other students were going home.
According to her she notified the defendant that she wanted to go home, but he delayed her, and later took her in the school room and laid her down and took off her clothes and had a sexual intercourse with her and threatened her not to tell anyone and promised to kill her if she did so.
Fourth rape victim like others explained similar encounter with their teacher where she alleged to have been raped by him.
The arrest of the 31-year-old teacher led the other pupils to speak out about the wholesome attitude of their teacher melted against them at the school.
The suspect, however, denied the allegations levied against him in a voluntary statement provided to the police during primary investigations, but admitted of known the victims.
According to police charge sheet, based on the medical reports and other facts obtained during the investigations, the police, through its Women and Children Protection Unit, charged suspect Mohammed V.S. Talawillay with the crime of rape in accordance with Chapter 14.70 of the New Panel Code of the Republic of Liberia.