-Eight-Year-Old Rape Survivor’s Mother Demands Justice
PAYNESVILLE, Liberia – A mother is pleading for justice and medical assistance for her eight-year-old daughter, who she says was brutally raped by a 15-year-old male student on their school campus. The alleged assault, now under the purview of the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberia National Police (LNP), occurred on Monday, November 17, 2025.
By Jerromie S. Walters/wjerromie@womenvoicesnewspaper_i2sktp
The survivor, a primary school student, left her home in Paynesville that morning in good health. However, her condition upon returning home raised immediate concerns for her mother. The child was not walking normally and appeared to be in visible physical discomfort. Compounding these observations, the back of the girl’s school uniform was heavily soiled, and other parts of her body were filthy.
The mother’s apprehension intensified later that evening during the child’s bath. The young girl strongly resisted her mother’s attempts to wash her, eventually disclosing that her vaginal area was causing her significant pain. This prompted a series of concerned questions from the mother, who grew increasingly skeptical about the cause of her daughter’s distress and physical state.
The mother initially attempted to coax the information from her daughter by promising her a chocolate milk, a known favorite, but the child remained silent.
After nearly an hour of calm but fruitless confrontation, the mother resorted to physical discipline, administering several lashes. It was only following this that the survivor relented, agreeing to disclose the events of the day on the condition that the beating cease.
The child then stated that the 15-year-old boy, identified as Lincoln Charles, a 5th-grade student at the same school, had taken her into a bathroom on the school premises and had sexual intercourse with her.
Crucially, the survivor revealed that the alleged perpetrator had threatened her life, vowing to kill her and burn down her family home if she ever revealed the assault to anyone.
The following day, Tuesday, November 18, the mother took her daughter to the school campus, where the child physically identified Lincoln Charles as her assailant. Confronted with the allegation, the parents of the 15-year-old boy vehemently denied the claim, asserting their son’s incapability of such an act.
The boy’s mother reportedly stated that she has daughters of her own and would never condone such behavior, and she threatened to pursue a traditional resolution to the matter, outside of the formal legal system.
In response to the serious allegations, the survivor was taken to the Hope for Women Medical Clinic on Duport Road for a medical examination. The examination was conducted in the presence of the survivor’s mother, grandfather, and uncle, as well as the mother of the alleged perpetrator. The medical findings, as recounted by the survivor’s mother, were conclusive.
“Two different people checked her. When they checked her they called me and the boy’s mother,” the mother stated. “The place was very red. The girl gets bruises all over her vagina. The place is red then the woman used the English on me… ‘the boy didn’t only touch the little girl, he penetrated.’ That’s what the nurse told two of us.” A formal medical report was generated and subsequently handed over to an officer of the Liberia National Police.
The police initiated an investigation, taking statements from at least four individuals, including the mothers of both the survivor and the alleged perpetrator. Law enforcement officials also visited the school to inspect the bathroom identified as the crime scene. Following this preliminary probe, the case was formally forwarded to the Women and Children Protection Section of the LNP for further investigation and potential prosecution.
However, the pursuit of justice encountered significant obstacles during a visit to the Temple of Justice on Thursday, November 20, 2025. The survivor’s mother was introduced to a lawyer assigned to her daughter’s case. After being briefed, the lawyer initially insisted on submitting the case file to the Women and Children Protection Section. This plan was abruptly altered moments later, after the lawyer and LNP staff members were observed in a conversation with the parents of the alleged perpetrator.
The survivor’s mother insinuated that this interaction was a “compromised” discussion. Immediately following it, the lawyer called the mother back and requested the return of the case file. “She said my boss man says you should carry the little girl for treatment, when she comes to herself, then I will call you,” the mother quoted the lawyer as saying.
This directive has placed the family in an unstable position. The mother now faces the demand to secure medical treatment for her daughter before the legal process can advance, yet she lacks the financial means to do so. She reports that the alleged perpetrator’s parents have refused to provide any assistance. “This girl gets plenty complications. She is getting faded in my hands. Her face has gotten white. She’s bleeding. She’s also feeling pain. How I will go treat her?” the mother lamented.
She further alleged that while at the police station on Capitol Hill, with her daughter still bleeding, a police officer requested a payment of US$10 to ensure the alleged perpetrator remained in prison. Despite having only US$11 on her mobile money account, the mother stated she transferred the funds to the officer out of desperation. The alleged perpetrator is currently in police custody. Since his detention, the survivor’s mother reported repeated attempts by the boy’s family to settle the matter privately, outside of the court system.
Such a private settlement would be in direct violation of Liberian law. Under Chapter 14 of the New Liberian Penal Code, rape is explicitly categorized as a non-bailable first-degree felony when the victim is under the age of 18. The crime carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and the law stipulates that it must be treated as a capital offense for bail purposes, ordinarily requiring pre-trial detention for suspects.
Now, the survivor’s mother makes a desperate public appeal for both legal aid to navigate the stalling judicial process and for financial or medical support to treat her traumatized and injured child. “Please help my daughter,” she pleads. “He took my daughter’s virginity. They are using cash violence.”
