Liberia: Meet the Parents – Stepfather Accused of Raping 15-Year-old Daughter Still on the Run
by Rodney Sieh
Monrovia – Johnson Chulutay, the stepfather of the 15-year-old girl he raped and impregnated remained on the run Wednesday as the Ministry of Justice and the Liberian National Police intensified search to bring him to justice.
On Wednesday, the mother, escorted by police returned to her Johnsonville home to fetch the photograph of her husband in a bid to help police and the public put a face to the suspect now being sought by police.
His wife, Mary, known to many as “Ma Mary” in the Johnsonville area was picked up in Johnsonville and is aiding the Investigation.
FrontPageAfrica has reliably learnt that Mary has informed authorities that she has not seen the husband since last year and he may be in Nimba County.
On Wednesday, the mother, escorted by police returned to her Johnsonville home to fetch the photograph of her husband in a bid to help police and the public put a face to the suspect now being sought by police.
The rape survivor, her child and relatives she lived with in Lofa are being escorted to Monrovia and should arrive by Thursday morning, Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean told FPA Wednesday evening.
In a graphic and shocking video now gone viral on social media, the 15-year—old explained how she once lived with her mother and the husband in Monrovia. But since her mother’s husband family never liked the mother, her grandmother told the mother to go to Lofa and leave her husband, but the mother refused, until the unthinkable happened leading to her pregnancy.
The survivor lamented: “That day, when my ma was going to sell, she told me to lock the door. After I finished locking the door and went to sleep; my ma husband tied cloth on his face and put clothes in my mouth so, I could not shout, and he did bad thing to me. By that time, I was menstruating when he did it to me. When I told my ma, she said husband cannot do that kind of thing.”
The little girl further narrated that after some time, her stomach started growing, her mother bought pregnancy test and tested her and found out she was pregnant. But by the she explained she was already three-months pregnant and nothing came out of it. “So, she sent me to my grandma in Lofa to be here.”
When asked if her mother did anything about the situation, the young girl explained that at first, the mother wanted to take action against the husband, but people told her not to do it. “So, she sent him to his home. The same day I was coming to Lofa, is the same day my step pa was going to his home,” she said.
Pressure intensified on Monday as many took to social media to vent their anger. Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence(Liberty Party, Grand Bassa, in a statement said she was heartbroken after watching the video that has gone viral depicting the young girl explaining how she was raped by her stepfather, lamenting that as a mother and national leader, she has been deeply distressed by the video.
Early Wednesday, Justice Minister Dean told FrontPageAfrica that an order for the arrest of the mother and the stepfather has been issued. “On yesterday, we ordered the arrest of the stepfather of the girl seen in the video recording. A massive nationwide manhunt is in progress. He is charged with Statutory Rape and Corruption of a Minor.”
IG Sudue said Wednesday that the mother of the minor is being pressed to assist the police in the investigation to determine further charges against anyone who may have aided and abetted the stepfather, including the mother, in the commission and concealment of the crimes of Statutory Rape and Corruption of a Minor.