By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter D.S
Judiciary of Sierra Leone, Main Law Courts Building, Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown, 3rd December 2025 High Court Judge Honourable Andrew S. C. Johnson has sentenced Ibrahim Tarawalie, 39, to 25 years in prison for wounding a one-year-old boy, Abu Bakarr Dolleh, with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. This offense is in violation of Section 18 of the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861.
The prosecution presented evidence that Tarawalie inflicted serious injuries on the child on July 31, 2024, in Freetown, after accusing him of stealing soup. The child was brought to a police station with severe burns on both hands, allegedly caused by the convict pressing the child’s hands against red-hot charcoal as a form of punishment.
The medical report indicated that the child sustained severe burns, resulting in permanent scarring and disfigurement. An eyewitness testified that Tarawalie had previously threatened to burn the child’s hands and, on the day of the incident, he forcibly held the child’s hands against the hot charcoal while the toddler screamed in agony.
Following the incident, a concerned school teacher, who had not seen the child for a while, advised the victim’s siblings to report the matter to the authorities, prompting police intervention.
In his defense, lawyer O. V. Gerber stated that Tarawalie maintained his not-guilty plea throughout the proceedings. However, in delivering the verdict, Justice Johnson concluded that the prosecution had convincingly established that Tarawalie’s actions were deliberate, premeditated, cruel, and sadistic, resulting in permanent harm to the child.
Justice Johnson emphasized that the convict had violated the trust placed in him by the Ministry of Social Welfare, justifying the 25-year sentence.
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