Abstract:
- The lawyer for a 14-year-old woman who alleges she was raped by a former deputy minister is difficult police findings that cleared him, calling the investigation incomplete and insufficiently clear.
- Liberian police say telecommunications information, CCTV footage, and DNA outcomes excluded Bryant McGill from the alleged crime, whereas the Ministry of Gender urged investigators to proceed the case and determine the perpetrator.
- Rights advocates warn that closing the case with out full disclosure dangers undermining public belief, as sexual violence instances proceed to rise in Liberia.
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives
The lawyer for a 14-year-old woman who stated she was raped by J. Bryant McGill, a former senior Liberian authorities official, is questioning the credibility of police findings that cleared the person, deepening public debate over accountability and transparency in sexual violence instances involving highly effective figures.
Tiawan Gongloe, the veteran human rights lawyer and former presidential candidate who’s representing the woman and her household, stated the police conclusions have been untimely and lacked transparency.
Gongloe stated the police had solely just lately requested his consumer to return the kid for added DNA testing — a request he stated undermined claims that the investigation was full.
“Only a few weeks in the past, police have been asking me, ‘Are you able to get to your consumer to carry his daughter?’” Gongloe stated. “They stated they wish to do one other DNA.”
He stated he had formally requested the complete investigation report, arguing that transparency would shield each the household and the credibility of the police.
“We have to know what went into the report,” Gongloe informed FrontPage Africa/New Narratives. “What got here to the general public is summaries. I wish to see an in depth report. Conserving it would create extra doubt. And that won’t be good for the picture of the police.”
Gregory Coleman, Liberian police chief, told a information convention Monday that, “the telecommunications and GPS information conclusively excluded Mr. McGill’s presence on the alleged crime scene.”
“CCTV footage didn’t help claims of his presence,” stated Coleman. “DNA forensic outcomes, which are actually being obtained, exclude Mr. McGill as a contributor to organic materials recovered from the sufferer’s clothes. Primarily based on the totality of digital, forensic, and bodily proof, the Liberia Nationwide Police exonerated Mr. Bryant McGill from this investigation.”
Liberia has restricted forensic DNA capability and normally sends DNA for testing in america or Europe. Coleman confirmed, in his press convention, that the DNA had been examined “by worldwide forensic companions.”
On Tuesday, J. Bryant McGill himself addressed a press convention at his lawyer’s workplace, sustaining that he had no contact with the woman and was not current on the location the place the alleged rape occurred.
“I cannot litigate this matter within the media,” stated McGill. “However I will even not settle for injustice or silence within the face of verified fact.”
He stated he empathized with the woman and her household and referred to as for the arrest of whoever dedicated the crime.
“We pray sincerely that the perpetrator of this crime shall be discovered and prosecuted,” he stated.
Coleman stated the police had not formally obtained such a request, however Gongloe supplied FrontPage Africa/New Narratives with a replica of the correspondence, dated January 13, 2026 and signed for by “INSP:Fayiah at 12:36hrs.” Coleman didn’t reply to follow-up questions asking for a response, despatched by WhatsApp.
Human rights organizations have additionally raised issues concerning the police conclusions.
“DNA outcomes alone don’t represent a definitive conclusion in instances involving critical allegations of sexual violence,” stated Tolbert Thomas Jallah Jr., government director of the Religion and Justice Community in a press release. “Justice should not solely be executed; it should be seen to be executed.”
The group additionally referred to as for the general public launch of forensic and procedural experiences, warning that with out transparency, public confidence in regulation enforcement would stay “deeply compromised.”
In September, President Boakai indefinitely suspended McGill over the allegation pending the result of the investigation, making him the primary official within the Boakai administration to be publicly accused of rape.
Sexual violence stays widespread in Liberia. Reported instances of sexual and gender-based violence rose by 20 p.c between 2023 and 2024, with 3,381 instances recorded, according to Laura Golakeh, deputy minister of gender.
McGill is the primary official within the Boakai administration to be publicly accused of rape, a criminal offense skilled and the Liberian authorities say is rising. There was a 20 p.c surge in sexual and gender-based violence instances in Liberia to three,381 instances reported between 2023-2024, according to Golakeh.
In a press release, the Ministry of Gender, Kids and Social Safety urged police to proceed their investigation. The ministry referred to as on the police to “swiftly determine and arrest the alleged perpetrator answerable for this heinous act” and stated it could preserve “shut and steady engagement” to make sure the case is dealt with “with the best ranges of urgency, professionalism, and transparency.”
Liberian courts have traditionally relied on testimony in rape instances. In a number of instances, together with Fallah v. Republic of Liberia, the Supreme Courtroom has ruled {that a} minor’s testimony, supported by medical or circumstantial proof, could also be ample to maintain a rape conviction.A medical physician conversant in sexual assault examinations, who spoke on situation of anonymity, stated the absence of DNA proof was commonplace, significantly given the time elapsed for the reason that alleged incident and the probability that the kid had bathed.
Gongloe stated he remained troubled by what he described as unequal remedy of the accused.
“He was strolling round—coming and going,” Gongloe stated. “I didn’t see Bryant being handled like somebody from West Level or Slipway (low-income, casual settlements). The general public should not see a distinction within the remedy of a VIP in comparison with an unknown individual.”
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as a part of the “Investigating Liberia” challenge. Funding was supplied by the Swedish embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say within the story’s content material.
