“The defendants deceived their victims, recruited them, harbored them, exploited them, sexually abused them and took money from them as registration fees,” Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie said during his more than two-hour reading of a 36-page judgment. “These are all critical elements of trafficking in persons. And it is the considered judgment of this court that the defendants are hereby sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment each.”

Anthony Stephens reports in this social media Video. To read more about this story click this link: Liberia: Court Hands Down Longest-Ever 50-Year Prison Terms in Liberia’s Largest Human Trafficking Case, Awards US$120,000 in Restitution to Victims – FrontPage Africa Online

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency. The funder had no say in the story’s content.