A military officer, John Baragu, who was recently acquitted of allegedly sexually molesting his niece by the National Court in Waigani early this month, is glad that “justice has prevailed”.
He alleged that the case was all framed up and calculated by a woman who was driven by jealousy.
Mr Baragu, a PNG Defence Force lieutenant, said he was grateful to his lawyer for doing a tremendous job in getting him acquitted.
“I was innocent from the start but with the volume of evidence filed by the prosecution, my only hope was in my lawyer and I am happy it is now off my back,” Mr Baragu said in a statement.
He said that the mental trauma, the disgrace and the pain he had to endure was unbearable which damaged and tarnished his professional and personal character.
“Despite the fact a court had acquitted me of the charge, the sad fact was that I am going to live with the fact that I was once accused of such a horrible crime,” he said.
Mr Baragu warned that if the mother of the alleged victim continued to issue outrageous media statements against the court and him, then he would be compelled to sue her for damages.
“I am keeping my options open and I wish to warn I am ready to face any appeal, but for now, we should all respect the court’s decision,” he said.
Mr Baragu was alleged to have sexually molested a child under 12 years. The victim was five-year-old at the time of the alleged incident on Feb 14, 2006, near Murray Barracks in Port Moresby.
The State alleged that the accused had shoved his finger into the victim’s private part that evening while under the influence of alcohol.
Mr Baragu denied the allegation and his lawyer, made a case that the victim had vaginal pains prior to the alleged incident after a trial ensued.
The lawyer submitted that the victim’s mother had ulterior motives for blaming the accused.
Justice Mogish in his decision last Dec 13, said he found evidence from the State lacking in weight as well as finding that the victim’s mother’s evidence tainted with ulterior motives.
The court also accused the victim’s mother of coaching the victim.
Mr Baragu was found not guilty and was acquitted.
The alleged victim’s mother had reportedly said that she would take the matter up to a higher court and appeal against the decision.