A man was on Monday sentenced to a 14 years jail term by the High Court in Bor town of Jonglei State for raping a boy in October last year.
Speaking to reporters in Bor, Justice John Yel Aleu, the presiding judge, said the court passed the verdict Monday after it found Kook Arok guilty of forcefully sodomizing the 9-year-old boy last October.
Yesterday a case that is related to Gender-Based Violence (GBV), unfortunately, the accused raped a 9 years old boy and he was presented before the court.” Justice Yel said. “Based on the documents and evidence provided by the prosecutor, and through the evidence and investigations which were provided by the lawyer of the defense, the court passed judgment that the accused person, Kook Arok, is to be sentenced to imprisonment for 14 years starting from October 2020.”
The judge said the accused was sentenced under section 248 of the Penal Code Act 2008, but pointed out that the convict has 15 days to appeal the court ruling if he is not satisfied with the ruling.
Last week the High Court in the Jonglei State capital, Bor, sent a 35-year-old man to prison for 10 years for defiling a minor.
Wani Michael, the executive director of the civil society organization, Okay Africa Foundation, called for more severe punishments to deter rapists.
“Sometimes those who do rape do not finish their jail term. So, there is a need for more severe punishment, and that the convict is not freed without proper proceedings before the end of their term. Also, I think, there is a need to enlighten the public that rape is a crime.” Wani said.