By: Shallon S. Gonlor |
shallonsgonlor@gmail.com
NIMBA COUNTY, Liberia — Resident Circuit Judge Musa S. Sidibey of the specialized Sexual Offenses Division Court in Nimba County has sentenced Alexander Kollie, a 36-year-old man to thirty (30) years imprisonment for gang rape against a 13-year-old girl. The conviction followed a unanimous guilty verdict by a trial jury.
On Thursday, March 12, 2026, the trial jury deliver its verdict. The outcome was twofold: Defendant Alexander Kollie was found guilty unanimously, while Co-defendant Jacqueline Jackson’s case resulted in a hung jury, with eight votes for guilty and four for not guilty. As this fell short of the three-fourths majority required by Section 20.11 of the Criminal Procedure Law Revised Code (amended May 2013). The court ordered a new trial for Jackson.
In a final judgment on Monday, March 23, 2026, Judge Sidibey noted that defendant Alexander Kollie’s testimony amounted to an admission of guilt, which he failed to rebut. Instead, Kollie admitted to having a sexual relationship with the 13-year-old victim, with the knowledge of her mother, Shirley Jackson.
Defendant Kollie’s defense claimed he was misled and did not commit gang rape, adding that co-defendant Jacqueline Jackson was innocent and unaware of the situation. He cited a friendly relationship between him, the victim, and her mother as reason to believe Jackson’s innocence.
The court ultimately rejected Kollie’s defense, sentencing him to 30 years in prison. “Wherefore and in view of the foregoing, the jury’s unanimous verdict of guilty is affirmed, and Defendant Alexander Kollie is adjudged guilty of rape. The defendant is sentenced to a prison term of thirty (30) years, yo be served at the Sanniquellie Central Prison,” Judge Sidibey declared.
Judge Sidibey defined rape as a first-degree felony, particularly when the victim is under 18, carrying a maximum life imprisonment sentence. Citing several Revised Panel Codes of the Criminal Procedure Law as well as the Honorable Supreme Court opinion, Judge Sidibey affirmed the jury’s verdict and imposed the 30-years sentence.
On October 27, 2025, the Gompa Magisterial Court charged Alexander Kollie and Jacqueline Jackson with gang rape. The prosecution then presented the case to the Grand Jury, which returned a true bill on December 4, 2025. On January 8, 2026, a ten-count indictment was filed, alleging the defendants, with criminal intent, forcibly removed clothes from and had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old victim on October 11, 2025.
Co-defendant Jacqueline Jackson was accused of masterminding the crime by hosting Kollie and arranging a room for the act. Kollie admitted being in the room intoxicated but denied the sexual act. The victim was treated at Ganta United Methodist Hospital.
The medical report revealed that the victim’s lab results showed evidence of hymen tear with penetration by a penis, healing and abrasion at the 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock positions, and vagina dilation, indicating that rape had occurred.
