Teenage prostitution is a critical issue in Liberia, and as established by this paper about a month ago, the demeaning practice is primarily driven by poverty, abandonment, and child trafficking.
Like many of them that get entrapped into complex situations daily- Angel Success Watson, a 16-year-old sex worker in Monrovia, is currently facing incarceration at the Monrovia Central Prison, after it was alleged that she killed her male client.
The victim of Angel’s alleged unorthodox act- Ansu Kromah, also known as- “Melting Kate,” was allegedly killed in the abandoned Euro Bank Building, on Broad and Warren Streets in central Monrovia.
Due to the magnitude of defendant Watson’s action, she has been charged with Murder, in violation of Chapters 14, Sections 14.1 of the revised penal code of the Republic of Liberia.
As established by Police’s findings, the deceased was seen at the Euro Bank Building on July 29, 2023, around 2:30pm, where he met an argument ongoing between Officer Mike B. Thompson of the Monrovia City Police (MCP) and another individual about cell phone charging.
It provides that while on the ground floor of the building where Ma. Fatu business is situated, the victim encountered defendant Watson who was sitting with some customers on the same floor where her boyfriend Francis Kollie was selling for his mother.
The Police’s findings also established that the deceased got engaged in an intimate affair with the defendant and offered her a drink, but his action sparked a heated verbal exchange between him and Mike B. Thompson, a City Police Officer, for several minutes until the intervention of Lawrence Kromah of the LIS, and his girlfriend Togbah.
The findings unveiled that the same night, the deceased play daughter along with her friends were at an entertainment Center identified as- Happy Club, at the former Pepper Bush night Club on Warrant Street, opposite the Ministry of Transport.
Some minutes after 12:00 midnight, one of the deceased play daughter’s friends returned to the building to sleep.
The findings explained that in the course of the night at about 4:00 am, after the deceased had an initial encounter with the defendant, he contacted her to engage into commercial sex with her. This, she acknowledged and contacted Emmanuel Mends-Cole, to give her access to his apartment for the service.
As expected by the defendant, the room was provided to them by Emmanııel Mends-Cole, but he also requested that the defendant should give him L$100.00, to purchase “spark” (take the narcotic called kush). However, the investigation says she (the defendant) promised to addresses his concern afterwards.
Suddenly, the police findings say early that morning, the deceased play daughter discovered his lifeless body at the front of the building, on Broad Street.
Howbeit- Emmanuel Mend- Cole is said to have confirmed to the investigation that he gave his room key, which is situated on the second floor of the building to the defendant and later went to smoke with his friends on Johnson Street. While sitting, he said they got the information about the discovery of the deceased but they were earlier told that fell from the building.
The findings explained that upon Mendscole’s arrival at the scene, he noticed that it was the same fellow that defendant took upstairs to his room. When he ran upstairs to locate the defendant, he noticed that the room door was wide opened, and abandoned, with the key in the lock.
The findings revealed that later that morning at about 9:00am, he came across defendant and upon inquiring from her about what happened between she and the deceased while they were in his room, she denied her involvement in whatever that left him dead and stated that she and the deceased never had anything to do.
The findings also explained that after it was acknowledged that the victim had died at the JFK hospital on Sunday morning, the police began making random arrest at the Euro Bank Building, the defendant who was there at the time doing some laundry with her boyfriend Francis Kollie who was also arrested, fled the scene and was not seen again until after about two months, three weeks.
Upon the arrest of defendant on Friday October 20, she was accorded her Miranda rights for which she offered to refrain from making a formal statement but verbally admitted that the deceased l had a brief encounter with her that morning expressing concerns about her wellbeing and even offered her a drink which she declined claiming that she do not drink or smoke, and even denied having any sexual encounter with the deceased that morning of the incident, she also verbally denied having any access to the room of Emmanuel Mendscole on the second floor, but acknowledge that the only discussion she had with Emmanuel Mendscole was when he asked her to assist him with LD$ 1000 to go and smoke which she did.
Defendant Watson also verbally provided conflicting disclosure that on the morning of the incident she and her boyfriend Francis Kollie packed his mother market and afterwards they both retired to sleep bed.
In contrast to her assertion, her boyfriend Francis Kollie disproved her same, claiming that his girlfriend was lastly seen by him going upstairs with the deceased at about 4:00 am after she had a brief interaction with Emmanuel Mendscole, and since that time he had not seen her again until later during the afternoon when she returned to the building and refuse to comment on what had transpired between her and the deceased.
That investigation further established that the statement provided by Madam Marthaline Miller, who provided information of which the deceased disclosed to her during her visit to him at the J.F.K Medical hospital on his sick bed with regards to what happened on the night of the incident appeared inconsistent with the information being obtained by the investigation.
Teenage Prostitution in Liberia
After we broke the news about the demeaning level at which teenage prostitution is being practiced in Liberia, sources affirmed that the degrading activity is driven, adopted, and nurtured by local child trafficking, as well as neglect by their immediate family members.
Many teenagers involved in prostitution in central Monrovia attribute their participation in this controversial activity to abandonment by their relatives and the migration from rural Liberia to unfavorable guardians in Monrovia, who often mistreat them. This unfortunate situation leaves them with no choice but to seek a change in their environment and fend for themselves. However, this often leads them to prostitution, which is undeniably unsafe for them.
One 15-year-old sex worker, Massa David (not her real name), stationed at the well-known Pro-Poor bus stop on Carey Street, Monrovia, shared that her involvement in this perilous practice stems from abandonment and maltreatment by her parents.
She has been engaged in this practice for almost a year and fears returning to her parents in Paynesville due to the previous mistreatment. Like many other street kids, she roams central town during the day and returns to her spot to conduct her regular business. At night, if things don’t go well, she is left with no option but to sleep in abandoned facilities.
Currently, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection in Liberia lacks data on underage prostitution. However, they have expressed their intent to conduct a survey in the coming months to gather relevant information.
In Liberia, both prostitution and child trafficking are illegal. According to unofficial records from the Gender Ministry, there are over 8,000 prostitutes in Liberia, with a substantial portion being older prostitutes. UNICEF estimates indicate that 1-2 million children under 18 are sexually exploited in prostitution annually globally, with significant numbers in Asia, particularly in India and Thailand. To address this problem in Liberia, women and child rights advocates believe it requires a comprehensive approach involving social, legal, economic, and educational measures to protect vulnerable teenagers and ensure a brighter future for them.
