Jury Convicts All Eight Defendants in Liberia Human Trafficking Trial

A jury convicted all eight defendants on all charges on 6 July 2026 in Liberia's largest human trafficking trial. The unanimous verdict came after roughly 20 minutes of deliberation. The defendants were found guilty of trafficking in persons, criminal conspiracy and theft of property.

Those facing rape charges were also convicted on those counts. AllAfrica reported that the case involved 57 alleged victims who described being lured with false promises of jobs in Canada. Victims said they were held for months at a compound in Gbankpa Town, Margibi County, where they were beaten, raped, starved and coerced into extorting money from their families.

Testimony indicated that defendant Jerome Genseh took as much as US$18,000 from one accuser under false promises of travel. Nine victims accused public defender Bestman Juah of offering a US$7,000 bribe to reduce charges and accused police investigator Enoch Dunbar of accepting payment to alter victim statements and drop charges. Both men denied the allegations.

Liberia's solicitor general Augustine C. Fayiah ordered a separate investigative panel to examine the claims. Four defendants had already pleaded guilty before the verdict. Shelley Jonny struck a deal with prosecutors on 10 June 2026 and testified against co-defendants in exchange for dropped charges.

Maxson Wonlebaye, Martherline Tompia and Preston Godfred pleaded guilty on 11 June 2026; their admissions counted only as a mitigating factor at sentencing. The government lost three trafficking cases between 2023 and 2024. Just six of 22 trafficking cases that reached Liberian courts since 2020 had ended in conviction before this verdict.

Liberia has spent two consecutive years on the US State Department's Tier 2 watch list for trafficking enforcement. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Neither prosecutors, defense lawyers nor victims have issued public statements since the verdict.