Liberia: Years After Gang-Rape Allegation, Court Records Show Maryland Bailiff Was Acquitted, Released

PLEEBO, Maryland County — Nearly four years after a Maryland County court bailiff was publicly accused of involvement in an alleged gang rape, official court records show that the case later ended with a Grand Jury Bill of Ignoramus, a court-ordered permanent release and a Certificate of Acquittal.

---

By Peter P. Toe Jr., [email protected]

---

The case involves Joseph Ponpon, who was serving as an assigned bailiff at the Gedetarbo Magisterial Court in Pleebo when he was arrested and charged in 2022.

On November 5, 2022, media reports indicated that Ponpon and Alphonso Togba had been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged gang rape involving a 13-year-old girl in the Zone 8 community of Pleebo District.

The report, citing a police charge sheet, said the two men were charged with gang rape under Section 14.73 of Liberia’s Penal Law. Ponpon denied the allegation.

The police charge sheet also contained allegations concerning the circumstances of the reported incident and referenced a medical examination of the alleged victim.

But the criminal case did not end with the police charge. Court records obtained by FrontPage Africa show that the matter subsequently proceeded to the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court in Harper, Maryland County.

The case was recorded as Republic of Liberia by and through the Ministry of Justice versus Joseph Ponpon and Alphonso Togba, with the charges listed as Statutory and Gang Rape.

On March 20, 2023, the Grand Jury of Maryland County returned a Bill of Ignoramus in the matter. The Grand Jury’s finding is recorded simply as “Bill of Ignoramus.”

The document was signed by the Clerk of the Grand Jury and approved by the Forelady.The finding meant the Grand Jury did not return an indictment in the matter presented to it.

Following the Grand Jury’s action, the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court issued an order on March 21, 2023. The court addressed several matters presented during the February Term of Court and specifically referenced the Bill of Ignoramus in the statutory and gang rape case.

The court ordered the Clerk to issue a “permanent release” to the defendant based on the Bill of Ignoramus returned by the Grand Jury. The order effectively brought the criminal proceeding against the defendant to an end at that stage.

Two days later, on March 23, 2023, the Clerk of the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court issued a document formally titled “CERTIFICATE OF ACQUITTAL.”

Certificate Says Defendants Were Acquitted

The certificate identifies Joseph Ponpon and Alphonso Togba as the defendants in the case and states that they had been charged with “STATUTORY & GANG RAPE.”

The document says the Grand Jury’s “unanimous FINDINGS of ‘BILL OF IGNORAMUS’” were brought down in favor of the defendants and were “confirmed and affirmed by this Honorable Court.”

The certificate further states that the defendants: “they are hereby acquitted and set free from the said crimes charged and shall enjoy their liberties as free citizens of the County and Republic aforesaid, henceforth.”

The certificate was signed by the Clerk of the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court and dated March 23, 2023. More than three years after the court proceedings, Ponpon says the legal outcome did not erase the effect the original allegation had on his reputation.

Speaking to FrontPage Africa on Monday, October 5, 2026, Ponpon said he was given the Certificate of Acquittal following the court proceedings and released. “After the court proceedings, I was given this certificate of acquittal and released,” Ponpon said.

He emphasized that the matter went beyond the police charge sheet. “The case did not just end with the police charge sheet,” he said.

According to Ponpon, the allegation affected a reputation he had built over several years. “Something I didn’t do affected my character I have built over years,” he said.

Ponpon also said that he was not contacted by journalists to provide his side when the allegation was initially reported. “The journalists who did that story did not reach out to me to hear my side when the allegation was made,” he said.

He said the absence of a follow-up report after the court proceedings contributed to the continued public perception surrounding the case. “Today people point fingers at me,” Ponpon said, attributing that situation to the lack of a follow-up informing the public of the court’s decision.

“I am a law-abiding citizen and we are doing our best, still serving the country through the judiciary,” He stated.

Following the court proceedings which resulted to issuance of an official Certificate of Acquittal, Ponpon now continues to serve as a bailiff at the Gedetarbo Magisterial Court in Pleebo.

The court documents provide important context to a case that initially became public through a police charge in 2022. The original report concerned an allegation and criminal charge. The subsequent court records show that the case proceeded to the Grand Jury, which returned a Bill of Ignoramus.

The Fourth Judicial Circuit Court then ordered the defendant’s permanent release, followed by the issuance of a Certificate of Acquittal. The records reviewed by FrontPage Africa therefore show no conviction against Ponpon in connection with the allegations reported in 2022.

While the initial allegation received public attention, the subsequent court proceedings and their outcome were not similarly brought to the wider public’s attention.

That gap left the original allegation more familiar to some members of the public than the court’s eventual decision. The purpose of the present report is to clarify the legal outcome documented in the official court records—not to revisit the original allegation as an established fact.

For Ponpon, however, the impact has continued beyond the courtroom. He remains at his post as a bailiff at the Gedetarbo Magisterial Court in Pleebo, while maintaining that he is a law-abiding citizen who continues to serve the country through the judiciary.

The court records reviewed by FrontPage Africa provide the subsequent legal outcome of a case that began with a 2022 police charge: the Grand Jury returned a Bill of Ignoramus, the court ordered permanent release, and a Certificate of Acquittal was issued on March 23, 2023.