The Gbarpolu County Association in the Americas (GCAA) says it has received, with utmost dismay and consternation, news that two adult males have been apprehended by the authorities in the county for two separate horrific crimes.
According to a dispatch, one of the acts involved the raping of a 2-year-old toddler, and another involving the raping of two young sisters, both under the age of seven.
“We condemn in the strongest term and despise the perpetrators of these horrific crimes outright as an initial reaction, and only because of our humanity and respect for the rule of law we ourselves espouse,” the association said in the dispatch.
GCAA however applauded the initial steps taken by the local authorities in the county by swiftly arresting and incarcerating the alleged perpetrators, thus isolating them from the general population “lest they prey on any number of unsuspecting children in the county again”.
Moreover, the association said it is especially gratified that the victims are reportedly receiving basic healthcare and support under the circumstances.
“Fully cognizant of the post-traumatic stress and psychosocial burdens often associated with rape and other social crimes in culturally sensitive places like Gbarpolu, the GCAA stands willing and ready to lend whatever level of support within its means to alleviate the scourge associated with this incident for these children and other recent cases of this nature in the county,” GCAA said in the dispatch.
It then assured the families and the victims as well as “our people in Gbarpolu and yea Liberia at large that this will not be business as usual. We would like to work with the national Government of Liberia (GOL) to put measures in place that will end this sickening and devilish act once and for all. The doers of these devilish acts must face the full weight of the law.”
The statement disclosed, “It must be understood that women and children in our county also have the right under the law to live in safe and free environment as any other citizen. Women and children must be protected by the national government. On the contrary, it’s very saddening to find that women and children are mostly unprotected and hardly free to live without some form of abuse. This must stop and needs to stop now.”
GCAA then asked the government to do a speedy investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.