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Criminal Court “E” Finds Former NSA Official Peter Bon Jallah, 63, Guilty of Statutory Rape and Kidnapping of 16-Year-Old Boy, Acquits Him of Gang Rape — Judge Orders Remand at Monrovia Central Prison
BY: Rufus Divine Brooks Jr.
MONROVIA, Liberia — Criminal Court “E” at the Temple of Justice on Friday convicted former National Security Agency official Peter Bon Jallah, 63, on charges of statutory rape and kidnapping involving a 16-year-old boy, in one of Liberia’s most closely watched sexual offense trials this year.
Assigned Circuit Judge Wesseh Alphonsus Wesseh Sr. handed down the split verdict at 11 a.m. on Friday, October 23, 2026, less than 24 hours after prosecution and defense rested their final arguments.
Jallah was found guilty on two counts — statutory rape and kidnapping — but acquitted of gang rape.
The court said the acquittal on the third count stemmed from the failure of the prosecution to produce the two other individuals allegedly involved in the January 1-3 incident on Camp Johnson Road, who were charged in absentia.
Immediately following the verdict, Judge Wesseh ordered Jallah remanded at Monrovia Central Prison pending sentencing.
The length of his sentence was not announced in open court.
Defense counsel Cllr. Wilfred Sayeh announced an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia, describing the lower court’s ruling as reviewable and setting the stage for a protracted appellate battle.
The trial, which began after Jallah’s arrest on January 7, 2026, saw the state call 12 witnesses, including the complainant, Liberia National Police investigators, medical personnel from the John F. Kennedy Medical Center, and Rwandan forensic expert Pascal Bavugirije of the Rwanda Forensic Institute.
Prosecutors alleged that Jallah sexually abused the minor on multiple occasions between November 29 and December 24, 2025, at his residence in Sinkor, and later held him at a building on Camp Johnson Road.
The prosecution’s case relied heavily on forensic evidence.
According to testimony, male DNA profiles recovered from four clothing exhibits — a white T-shirt, black T-shirt, shorts and boxer shorts — matched Jallah’s reference sample.
Bavugirije testified, however, that while the profiles matched, forensic analysis could not determine when or how the biological material was deposited.
Jallah, who served as Special Assistant to NSA Director Maj. Gen. Prince C. Johnson before being suspended following his arrest, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
His defense challenged the credibility of the complainant’s account, the handling of DNA evidence, and what it described as inconsistencies in medical findings.
The conviction on two felony counts now moves to the Supreme Court for review, where the defense will seek to overturn Criminal Court “E’s” decision.