The State, represented by State Counsel S.H. Barkum, on Tuesday, September 8, 2009, closed its case in the trial of one Apha Jallow at the Special Criminal Court in Banjul, presided over by Justice Moses Richards.

Apha Jallow is alleged to have raped a 3-year old girl at Barra in the North Bank  Region. Before the close of the prosecution's case against the accused, the fifth witness, Corporal Jawo  Keita, told the court that he travelled to Barra several times to search for one Momodou Salieu Jallow, whom the accused claimed to have been with when the purported incident took place.

The witness stated that when he travelled to Barra, he asked a lot of people but none  could verify the accused person. Couple  Keita said he obtained the accused person's voluntary statement but stressed that he was never under duress. The witness informed the court that the victim's bloodstained clothes were kept inside a black poly bag, but as a result of a cleansing exercise conducted at the Major Crime Unit, the exhibit was disposed off as the label may have fallen off.

He explained that they had invited the victim's father to help the police identify his daughter's bloodstained clothes but to no avail. Under re-examination, the witness confirmed that he had never visited the crime scene at Barra but had gone to the town to search for Momodou Salieu Jallow, whom he never found. Hearing continous on September 18, 2009.