Criminal Assizes Court “E” for Montserrado County has found former National Security Agency (NSA) official Peter Bon Jallah, 63, guilty of statutory rape and kidnapping involving a 16-year-old boy, while acquitting him of gang rape.
Assigned Circuit Judge Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh Sr. delivered the split verdict on Friday, October 23, 2026, following a bench trial in which the court considered testimony from prosecution and defense witnesses, along with other evidence presented during the proceedings. Jallah was charged in a three-count indictment with gang rape, statutory rape and kidnapping, alongside two unidentified co-defendants who remain outside the court’s jurisdiction.
In its verdict, the court ruled that the prosecution had not established sufficient grounds to convict Jallah of gang rape. However, Judge Wesseh found the evidence sufficient to establish his guilt on the charges of statutory rape and kidnapping.
Following the verdict, the judge ordered Jallah remanded at Monrovia Central Prison pending the submission of a pre-sentence and behavioral report by the Bureau of Probation Services at the Ministry of Justice. The report is expected to assist the court in determining the appropriate sentence. The judge did not announce the length of any prison term on Friday.
According to the indictment, the alleged victim and Jallah lived in the Airfield Sharks Community in Sinkor, Monrovia, where the teenager reportedly performed domestic work and errands for Jallah in exchange for compensation. The prosecution alleged that on November 29 and December 24, 2025, Jallah lured the boy to his residence, where he allegedly sexually assaulted him.
The indictment further alleged that on January 1, 2026, after the teenager participated in a community football match at the Kpelle Town football field, Jallah approached him and asked why he had not informed him about the game so that he could purchase a pair of football boots for him. According to the prosecution’s account, Jallah subsequently instructed the teenager to return home, bathe and come back before taking him out to purchase the boots.
The indictment alleged that the two later traveled to an unidentified building in the Camp Johnson Road area of downtown Monrovia, where the teenager was held for three days and sexually assaulted by Jallah and the two alleged accomplices. The prosecution further alleged that on January 3, 2026, at approximately 10 p.m., the teenager was concealed in the back of Jallah’s vehicle and left along 15th Street in Sinkor.
According to the indictment, private security guards found the boy and alerted his mother and other relatives, who subsequently took him to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center for medical examinations. These allegations formed the basis of the prosecution’s case. The court ultimately found Jallah guilty of two charges but acquitted him of the third.
Jallah’s criminal proceedings began following his arrest on January 7, 2026, after a complaint filed by the teenager’s mother prompted an investigation by the Liberia National Police’s Women and Children Protection Section.
Police subsequently charged him with statutory rape, gang rape and kidnapping and forwarded the case to court. A Monrovia City Court later ordered his detention pending trial. The case was initially assigned to Criminal Assizes Court “A” for Montserrado County before being transferred to Criminal Assizes Court “E” for further proceedings and trial.
On June 18, 2026, Jallah was arraigned in open court and pleaded not guilty to all three counts, thereby joining issue with the prosecution. He subsequently elected to have the case tried by a judge without a jury.
The proceedings encountered delays after the prosecution filed a motion seeking a change of venue. Criminal Court “E” heard and denied the motion, prompting the prosecution to petition the Chamber Justice for a writ of certiorari.
The Chamber Justice denied the petition, and the case was ordered to proceed in accordance with law. The trial suffered another delay after the regular sitting of the court expired before the taking of evidence could continue.
On August 5, 2026, the case was reassigned for regular trial before Judge Wesseh, paving the way for the parties to present their evidence. During the trial, the prosecution presented 13 regular witnesses and six rebuttal witnesses in support of the indictment. The defense, in turn, presented eight regular witnesses and subpoenaed representatives from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Orange GSM and the John F. Kennedy Medical Center.
The proceedings examined the accounts of the alleged victim, the circumstances surrounding the alleged offenses and evidence presented by both parties. In a separate pre-verdict hearing, the defense challenged the sufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence and sought a judgment of acquittal. Judge Wesseh denied the motion on September 30, 2026, allowing the trial to continue. The denial did not constitute a finding of guilt.
After both sides rested their cases, final legal arguments were heard on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The court subsequently adjourned to Friday, October 23, to review the evidence and arguments before delivering its verdict.
In resolving the case, Judge Wesseh framed three central questions around whether the prosecution had presented sufficient grounds to convict Jallah of each of the three offenses. On gang rape, the court answered in the negative and declared Jallah not guilty, thereby acquitting him of that charge. On statutory rape, the court answered in the affirmative and found him guilty.
The court reached the same conclusion on the kidnapping charge, resulting in convictions on two of the three counts in the indictment.
The verdict represents a split outcome in a case that began with allegations of sexual abuse and the abduction of a minor and proceeded through months of legal arguments, evidentiary hearings and trial delays.
Following the verdict, Judge Wesseh directed the clerk of court to enter the decision into the court’s records and communicate with the Bureau of Probation Services at the Ministry of Justice for the preparation of a pre-sentence and behavioral report.
Jallah will remain at Monrovia Central Prison pending the report and the court’s subsequent judgment and sentencing proceedings. The case now awaits the next stage of proceedings, during which the court is expected to consider the probation report before imposing sentence.
