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        "rendered": "<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>September 2026 \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>On the morning of November 12, 2024, Prima, a three-year-old girl, was on her way to kindergarten with her mother in Gulu City, Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along the way, her mother briefly stopped at a roadside kiosk to buy chapati, leaving the little girl unattended for only a few moments. When she returned, Prima was missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Panicking, she began searching for her daughter. She would later discover that a man from the area had taken her daughter away and sexually assaulted her. The incident sent shockwaves through the community. Residents were outraged, and some attempted to take matters into their own hands and assaulted the man. At 48, he was known to be a casual labourer in the area. However, local leaders intervened and supported Prima\u2019s mother to file a complaint with the police. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case was brought to the attention of IJM by the police a day after the incident, seeking support in investigation, including documentation of the crime scene and collection of critical evidence. These efforts helped ensure that the case file was completed and sanctioned by the Resident State Attorney for prosecution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The perpetrator was subsequently charged with aggravated defilement* and remanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On August 17, 2026, as the trial was underway at the High Court in Gulu, the perpetrator suddenly opted to plead guilty to committing the offence. He was sentenced to 12 years&#8217; imprisonment, including the two years he had already spent on remand.<br><br>Reflecting on this case, Florence Lora Atim, IJM Uganda Justice Systems Specialist, observes that it is becoming common to see perpetrators plead guilty in the middle of trial: \u201cPerpetrators of cases involving violence against women and children tend to change plea during trial when they realize that there are witnesses testifying against them and the evidence against them is strong.\u201d<br><br>Ms. Atim also observes that Prima\u2019s case is one of the cases that benefited from the <em>Justice For Her Project<\/em>, an initiative currently being piloted by the Judiciary to accelerate court hearings and improve legal outcomes for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>*Stock Photo used and name changed to protect the survivor&#8217;s identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br><em>*Defilement is the legal term for sexual assault of a minor in Uganda, when \u2018aggravated\u2019, this means the circumstances are more extreme, for example in the case of a very young child. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>",
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