(CMR) A 17-year-old boy accused of rape, buggery, and killing a nine-year-old girl when he was only 13 years old was found guilty in a Jamaica court on Friday.
The body of Kadijah Saunders was found in bushes on the night of Tuesday, 5 June 2018, after a search was launched when she failed to return home from school.
The court heard that the nine-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and killed by the teen, who lived near her after she accepted his invitation to pick apples as they walked home from school, the Gleaner reported.
According to the report, a pathologist testified during the trial that the girl died of asphyxia caused by manual strangulation and that she had lacerations of the vagina and anus. Forensic evidence revealed that material found in the anus of the schoolgirl matched the DNA of the teen.
However, a forensic DNA expert testified that there was no evidence connecting the teen and the vagina of the schoolgirl.
The defense lawyers had argued that the teen was innocent. According to The Gleaner, they argued that the police failed to properly investigate the case to bring to justice the appropriate perpetrators.
In an unsworn statement, the teen admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the girl in her vagina, not her anus. He said he was forced to do so after being held up by two men, one carrying a machete and the other a gun.
He is expected to be sentenced on 28 July.
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