The Grand Jury of Montserrado County has indicted five women on charges of trafficking in persons and criminal conspiracy in a case involving 14 children allegedly transported across borders under deceptive circumstances.
The indictment, returned during the August Term of Court in the First Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “A,” names Halimatu Daramy, Hareita Beaye, Grace H. Sesay, Hawa Kamara and Famata Doe as defendants.
The case is currently before Resident Circuit Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie of Criminal Court “A.”
According to court documents, the defendants were arrested on April 13, 2025, while traveling with 14 children ranging in age from 11 months to eight years. The children were allegedly being transported en route to Burkina Faso when they were intercepted by officers of the Liberia Immigration Service and turned over to the Liberia National Police for investigation.
Allegations of Cross-Border Exploitation
Prosecutors allege that the defendants had previously recruited and transported the same minors to Mali under deceptive circumstances, where they were later “rescued” and returned to Liberia. Following their return, authorities claim the defendants received L$50,000 as part of a resettlement package.
The indictment further alleges that the women again attempted to move the children across borders — this time toward Burkina Faso — with the intent of exploiting international assistance programs, including resettlement benefits purportedly linked to humanitarian organizations.
Investigators allege that some of the children were not biologically related to the women transporting them. According to the indictment, one defendant allegedly traveled with eight children, seven of whom were not her biological offspring, while others transported nieces, grandchildren or children entrusted to them by relatives.
The prosecution claims that birth records were falsified and names altered in order to mislead immigration authorities and obscure the identities and origins of the minors.
The charges were brought under Liberia’s Revised Trafficking in Persons Act of 2021, which defines trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons through coercion, fraud, deception, abuse of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payments for the purpose of exploitation.
Under the Act, a person convicted of trafficking in persons faces a minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, with longer terms possible if aggravating factors are established, including participation in an organized criminal group.
The indictment also cites provisions of Liberia’s Penal Code relating to conspiracy, which provides that individuals who agree to commit a crime — even if they do not know all participants — may be held equally liable.
Restitution Sought
Prosecutors are seeking restitution totaling US$49,000 on behalf of the 14 children. This includes US$35,000 for medical and psychological treatment, US$7,000 for rehabilitation expenses already incurred, and an additional US$7,000 for emotional distress, pain and suffering.
Court filings allege that the children “suffered and continue to suffer traumatizing emotional and physical injuries” as a result of the alleged trafficking activities.
The case was presented to the Grand Jury by the Montserrado County Attorney’s Office. Listed witnesses include law enforcement officers and investigators, along with documentary evidence such as birth certificates and photographs.
The prosecution has begun producing state witnesses in the ongoing trial. On Monday, the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Justice, called one of its key witnesses to testify against the five defendants.
The case underscores ongoing regional concerns about child trafficking in West Africa, where porous borders and economic hardship have created vulnerabilities that traffickers can exploit.
