Gender Based Violence Court premises in Juba. |3 December 2022 |Credit: Lou Nelson.

The Gender-Based Violence Court in Juba has Friday dismissed a defilement case and acquit the suspect due to suspicious evident.

In May last year, Chol Ayud Chol, 26, was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at Thongpiny residential area in Juba.

According to Judge Francis Amum Awin, the story started with the family inquiring the whereabout of the purported minor, after she came home late.

The girl allegedly confessed to her parents that she was with Chol.

Upon indictment, the accused confessed to having had a love affair with the girl, adding that he intended to marry her.

In his defense, the accused stated that he was informed by the survivor that she is above 18 years old and ready to marry.

But the family alleged that their daughter was not mature.

The complainant who is the uncle of the survivor allegedly claimed the girl was born in 2005.

However, on the contrary, the defense, says certificate of the girl registered in Nationality, Passport, and indicates that she was born on 1/1/2000.

The police testified stated that the survivor is registered in the records and was born on the year 2000, and as such she could be a 22-year-old.

The evidence, according to the court,  creates doubt, whereas a doubt in criminal litigations favors the accused person on presumption of innocence.

Therefore, the judge Amum found Chol Ayud Chol not guilty of violating section 247 of the South Sudan Penal Act 2008.

He read the final order on Friday.

“To approve defilement you must approve three element of defilement the prosecutor has to approve that the survivor age is blow 18 years,

“The second element is sexual abuse and identification of the offend Criminal case is dismissed,” said Judge Amum.

The court acquitted Chol and advised the complainant to appeal the decision within 15 days.

The dismissal of the case due to unconvincing evident is not the first of its kind.

Early this month, the same court freed a young man of defilement charges, citing doubtful evidence and forgery of birth certificate by the complainant.