Judge's gavel in courtroom - (Photo: Courtesy).

The Gender-Based Violence Court in Juba has sentenced a 22-year-old man to five years imprisonment for defiling a minor girl in Juba about mid-last year.

According to the Court verdict file Eye Radio got access to on Tuesday, the presiding judge Andrew Jushow Ladu found Laku Mundria Laku guilty of committing the crime in May 2023.

A photo of the unnamed victim was found in the convict’s phone, according to a prosecutor’s attestation.

During the court session, convict Laku argued that the girl told him she was 19 years old when they met.

However, before the verdict, convict Laku was said to have confessed the wrongdoing after 5 months of deliberations in the court over the case.

According to Judge Lado, Laku violated section 247 of the South Sudan 2008 Penal Act and was fined  SSP 1M in reparation to the victim.