In another landmark case in the ongoing Labour Ministry’s intensive fight against Trafficking In Persons (TIP), 41-year-old James Fiyiah has been sentenced to a twenty-year imprisonment in Sanniquellie, Nimba County.
The convict will serve his jail term at the Zwedru Correction Palace in Grand Gedeh County, a Labour Ministry press release disclosed, quoting the October 13th court verdict, signed by Assigned Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court, Her Honor Serena F. Garlawolu.
According to the release, Fayiah was charged with ‘criminally and wickedly kidnapping victim Blessing Mattain, a 16-year-old girl, took her to the Republic of Sierra Leone and sexually maltreated her for a period of six years, during which period she gave birth to two children, Samuel and the other deceased’.
The release, quoting cogent court documents, revealed that ‘the victim was surreptitiously taken from a church compound in Toweh Compound in Ganta City, Nimba County by the convict James Fayiah, under the pretense of seeking spiritual solution, but was instead taken away to Sierra Leone. Fayiah demanded and received a US300.00 ransom from the victim’s father as a precondition for her release, but refused to do so. He was later arrested by the Liberia National Police (LNP) while arranging to secretly take away the victim’s only surviving child of the two, born from Fayiah’s six years of sexual molestation.
He was subsequently tried and sentenced for the criminal acts committed by the court. Kidnapping is a felony of the first degree, unless the actor voluntarily releases the victim alive and in a safe place before trial; while Interference with custody of children is an offense ‘when a person knowingly and recklessly takes or entices any child under eighteen years from the custody of his or her parents, guardians or other lawful custodians when he has no privilege to do so’.
The verdict was handed down in open court on October 13, during the October term. Meanwhile, Labour Minister Hon. Cllr. Cooper W. Kruah, Sr. has welcomed the latest verdict, describing it as ‘ a strong message to criminals engaged in the terrible crime of Trafficking In Persons (TIP)’. He, however, reechoed his calls for increased financial support to the Ministry’s TIP campaign. It can be recalled that the United States Government recently removed Liberia from its State Department Tier 2 Watch List, a decision which marks the international community’s acknowledgement of Liberia’s success in the battle against the crime.
