Sicap-Mbao: A 42-year-old shopkeeper jailed for indecent assault on his friend's daughter

A serious sex scandal is shaking the Tally Mame Diarra neighborhood in Sicap-Mbao. El H. Sow, a 42-year-old shopkeeper, is accused of sexually abusing his friend's daughter, a 15-year-old student.

According to Seneweb , officers from the Diamaguène Sicap-Mbao district police station brought the accused before the Pikine-Guédiawaye prosecutor's office last Tuesday. He is being prosecuted for pedophilia, sexual assault, and attempted rape of a 15-year-old girl, following a complaint filed by the victim, F. Kane, who was assisted by her father. An investigation was immediately launched to shed light on these events.

The events took place on August 18, 2026, around 11:00 AM, at the Kane family home. Interviewed in the presence of her mother, who is legally responsible for her, F. Kane, a high school sophomore residing in Tally Mame Diarra, recounted her ordeal: “El H. Sow is an acquaintance of my father. He often comes to my mother's shop to buy cigarettes and would jokingly tell me that I was his wife. Without giving it a second thought, I thought I shouldn't take him seriously. The day before yesterday, he came to our house around 10:00 AM while I was washing clothes for my mother, who wasn't home. He asked about my parents, and I told him they had gone to work. He then left. Twenty minutes later, he returned and surprised me in my mother's room while I was folding clothes. He started propositioning me for sex.” Surprised by his statements, I tried to push him away before he threw me onto my mother's bed to force himself on me. Faced with his obstinacy, I finally screamed for help to make him run away. If it hadn't been for my screams, he would have penetrated me because he had an erection and had started to caress me. The young girl gave her panties and her torn t-shirt to the investigators.

The father's statements and the suspect's background

Investigators also interviewed his father, AS Kane. He explained that on August 18, 2026, around noon, his friend El H. Sow called him to say that he had come to his home to tease his daughter, but that his wife and a friend of hers had accused him of rape and hurled insults at him. The mother then recounted the exact scene to her husband. The victim's father stated that the accused had a bad reputation in the neighborhood, claiming that he was in the habit of groping and harassing other men's wives. On several occasions, neighborhood mediations had had to be organized to get him out of similar situations.

The defendant's version

Placed in police custody for pedophilia, sexual assault, and attempted rape, the shopkeeper, a married father of three living in the Sam Sam neighborhood, gave his version of events: “I know the girl because she sometimes runs her parents’ shop. I often go there to buy cigarettes or poultry feed. Besides that, I often teased her, calling her my second wife. On the day in question, I went to their house when her parents weren’t there, but I didn’t abuse her. Admittedly, I was teasing her. To my great surprise, her mother, who wasn’t there, came and accused me of rape.”

Continuing his statement, he added: “That day, around 9 a.m., as I was heading to the market where I run my chicken business, I passed by the house and found the girl doing laundry in the yard. I told her to hurry up to avoid the sun, since it was summer and very hot. Then I continued on my way to the market where I stayed until noon. That's when the victim's mother, accompanied by a friend named Fatoumata, came to ask me if I had raped her daughter. I told them no. Fatoumata flew into a rage, calling me all sorts of names and accusing me of exposing myself to the girl. At that point, I closed my shop and left. I never tried to abuse her; I was just teasing her, and I want to make it clear that I did not expose myself.” The defendant concluded: "I sent a delegation led by the local imam for mediation because I acknowledge some responsibility in entering the house in the parents' absence. The girl's father is very jealous and had already warned me."

Placed under a detention order after medical examinations

The medical report issued by the gynecologist at Thiaroye Hospital, following a request from investigators, attests to the absence of hymenal lesions in the victim, confirming her virginity.

At the end of his detention, El H. Sow was brought before the prosecutor's office in Pikine-Guédiawaye. He was ultimately remanded in custody on charges of indecent assault with violence and corruption of a minor, and will be tried soon before the court for flagrant offenses.

Doudou DIOP