Criminal Court “E” at the Temple of Justice has sentenced Grawfar Tokpah, also known as Augustine Tokpa Yah, to 50 years in prison after he was convicted of rape.
Judge Wesseh A. Wesseh handed down the sentence following a guilty verdict returned by a 12-member trial jury on September 14, 2026. One juror abstained from the decision.
Tokpah was prosecuted for raping Lucy Kollie, a pseudonym used to protect the identity of the alleged victim. The prosecution said the offense occurred between 2023 and 2024 in the Mamba Point community of Monrovia.
During closing arguments, prosecutors told the jury that Tokpah deliberately lured the girl into his room under the pretext of watching movies while her mother was away.
The prosecution argued that Tokpah took advantage of the circumstances because he and the victim lived in the same house. Prosecutors said his actions violated Liberia’s amended Rape Law, particularly Chapter 14.70(b).
The prosecution also told the jury that Tokpah admitted during a police investigation that he had sexual intercourse with the victim several times in his room in Mamba Point.
A medical report issued by the John F. Kennedy Medical Center on May 7, 2024, was also presented as documentary evidence during the trial.
The public defenders representing Tokpah, however, urged the jury not to base its decision on assumptions or hearsay. They argued that the prosecution had a duty to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The defense also challenged parts of the prosecution’s closing argument, particularly statements concerning the death of the defendant’s girlfriend in childbirth and the alleged impact of the rape case on her.
Despite the defense’s arguments, the jury found Tokpah guilty, paving the way for Judge Wesseh to impose the 50-year prison sentence.
The case arose from events that prosecutors said took place in Mamba Point between 2023 and 2024.
