The Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Court in Juba, South Sudan today sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for raping a 15-year-old girl.

In May last year, 20-year-old Daniel Charles Andria was accused of raping the teenage girl at Gurei residential area in Juba town.

Francis Amum Awin, the Presiding Judge, said the GBV Court has charged the accused under article 247 of the South Sudan Penal Code 2008 for having sexual intercourse with a teenager without her consent.

The article also states that upon conviction, the perpetrator shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years and may also pay a fine.

“The convicted person is sentenced to 10 years in prison effective from today the 18 of January 2021. The convicted has to pay the victim an amount of 600,000 SSP as amends through the criminal procedure,” Judge Amum said while reading the verdict.

In 2019, the South Sudan government and its partners set-up the GBV special court to try crimes related to gender-based violence in the country.