BY: Shallon S.Gonlor
SANNIQUELLIE, NIMBA CO. — The Specialized Sexual Offenses Division Court of the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in Sanniquellie, Nimba County has confirmed a 25-year prison sentence for Chester S. Paye, 53, who was adjudged guilty in March 2024 for raping a 12-year-old girl.
The incident occurred in May 2023 on his farm in Zuolay Town on the Saclepea-Tappita Highway in Nimba County District 9.
It can be recalled that on Monday, March 18, 2024, the Sexual Offenses Court Judge Musa S. Sidibey handed down a guilty verdict and sentenced Former Zuolay Magisterial Court Magistrate Chester S. Paye to a 25-year jail sentence, but his lawyer filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia.
The court’s ruling at the time come after eleven out of twelve jurors returned a majority guilty verdict against Chester S. Paye, 53, charged with statutory rape against a 12-year-old girl.
However, the 53-year-old rape convict, Chester S. Paye is finally on his way to spend his 25 years of prison sentence in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County due to his lawyer’s failure to serve and file its notice of completion of appeal within sixty days as provided for under the Criminal Procedure Law of Liberia.
Ruling Tuesday, May 28, 2024, on the motion to dismiss the appeal filed by the prosecution and the resistance of the defense counsel, Judge Sidibey said the court takes judicial notice of the two appeal statutes vis-a-vis the Criminal Procedure Law and the Civil Procedure Law. He said the court recognizes that the counsel for the defendant relies on Section 51.16 of the Civil Procedure Law which provides that “…an appeal may be dismissed by the trial court on the motion for failure of the appellant to file a bill of exceptions within the time that allowed by statute, and by the appellate court after filing of the bill of exceptions for failure of the appellant to appear on the hearing of the appeal, to file an appeal bond, or to serve notice of appeal as required by statute.”
According to him, the statute relied upon by the defendant does not apply to criminal cases particularly so when there is a clear unambiguous provision provided in the Criminal Procedure Law.
“In support of this provision, this court relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the case: Contempt Proceeding against Hon. Tah et al, Supreme Court Opinion, October Term, A.D. 2013 (Decided January 10, 2014) where the court was confronted with the application of a criminal statute in the civil matter” Judge Sidibey stated.
He quotes the Supreme Court espoused as follows: “Notwithstanding, this Court recognizes that where, growing out of action for contempt of court or any civil matter, compelling reason(s) exist for the provisional release of a prisoner from a detention center an application may be made in every such case to the court by the Minister of Justice, as the custodian of the prisoner, or by the prisoner himself or herself. The Case involving Dr. Chris Toe and Front Page Africa Newspaper, Rodney Sieh et al, out of which these contempt proceedings grew is a civil case hence a criminal procedure, not directed by law, cannot applied in such a case. It is the elementary principle of law that what is not expressly stated is deemed withheld.”
According to him, the same principle quoted above applies to the instant to the case in other words the Criminal Procedure Law expressly provides under Section 24.17 that “an appeal may be dismissed by the trial court on a motion for failure of the appellant to complete the appeal and filed notice of its completion as required by this chapter, and by the appellate court for failure of the appellant to appear on the hearing of the appeal.”
“Clearly it can be said that this court retains jurisdiction to entertain the motion to dismiss the appeal contrary to the contention of the defendant. In further support of the court’s position on the applicability of Section 24.17 of the Criminal Procedure Law, see RL v. Darius Nbolanda, Supreme Court Opinion March Term A.D. 2014, RL v. Mohammed Ilyas, Supreme Court Opinion March Term 2016” Judge Sidibey stated.
The court also notes that the fact is not contended by the defendant that he failed to serve and file his notice of completion of appeal within sixty days as provided for under the Criminal Procedure Law, but he has only contended the legal sufficiency of the motion on jurisdictional ground which this court has already dealt with.
“It suffices to say that the prosecution’s motion to dismiss the appeal is supported by the facts as contained in the records and the law relied upon in its motion. The defendant’s failure to file its notice of completion of appeal therefore renders his appeal dismissible. The resistance of the defendant is therefore overruled” he said.
The Specialized Sexual Offenses Division Court Resident Circuit Judge, Musa S. Sidibey meanwhile ruled Tuesday on the motion to dismiss the appeal filed in favor of the prosecution against the defendant, citing the law as his legal reliance.
Judge Sidibey therefore ordered the Superintendent of the Sanniquellie Central Prison to give effect to his ruling dated March 18, 2024, to transfer to the Palace of Correction of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court in Grand Gedeh County, Chester S. Paye to serve his 25-year imprisonment.
