Thiès: After stealing two phones, he tries to rape a minor in her room

SM Ndiaye, a street vendor residing in Thiès, was tried in flagrante delicto for theft committed at night with breaking and entering and indecent assault. The events took place around 3 a.m. at a residence in Thiès.

According to court proceedings, the defendant had scaled the wall of the victims' compound before entering their rooms. In the parents' room, he stole two cell phones and 4,000 CFA francs.

But his intrusion didn't stop there. He then entered the girls' room where the minor, MD Diouf, was sleeping. He then attempted to have sexual relations with her.

In court, SM Ndiaye admitted to the theft, while denying the indecent assault charge. The alleged victim gave damning testimony. She stated that the defendant had climbed on top of her before attempting to rape her. "He climbed on top of me. He took off his pants and undressed me as well. I woke up and asked him to get down. Then I screamed to alert my father," she told the judges.

Alerted by his daughter's screams, the father explained that he rushed outside to see what was happening. He claims to have seen the accused take the stairs leading to the terrace before jumping out to flee. "I also jumped from the terrace to chase him. He was running naked. He had tried to have sex with my daughter," he testified.

In his closing arguments, the public prosecutor argued that the charges of burglary at night with breaking and entering and indecent assault were substantiated. He therefore requested a three-year prison sentence.

But at the end of the proceedings, the court acquitted SM Ndiaye of the charge of indecent assault, giving him the benefit of the doubt. However, it found him guilty of burglary committed at night and sentenced him to two years' imprisonment.