Factory hand jailed 15 years over defilement

Accra, March 19, GNA – An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a factory hand to 15 years imprisonment for having sex with a six-year-old girl at Akweteyman in Accra.

Abdallah Issakah, aged 19, pleaded not guilty to the charge of defilement.

The Court, presided over by Mrs. Christiana Cann, however found Issakah guilty at the end of the trial convicted and sentenced him accordingly.

Handing down the sentence, the Court said it took into consideration the the prevalence of the offence within Accra and the city generally, the premeditation with which the accused person committed the offence, the intrinsic seriousness of the offence, the revulsion by the Court as well as law-abiding citizens, the age of the victim and the trauma the victim was going through.

The Court said although the accused was a first time offender, he did not have mercy on the victim who was at the time, six years when he ravished her.

According to the Court, it showed its “zeal to protect the sanctity of our young girls as well as revulsion for such animal instincts by imposing a harsher sentence to serve as a deterrent to like-minded persons hence the jail term.”

Prosecuting, Detective Sergeant Opoku Aniagyei, said the complainant was unemployed, and resides at Akweteyman with her daughter who was the victim in the case.

He said Issakah also resides in the same vicinity with the victim and her mother.

According to the Prosecution, on January 12, 2018 between 1130 hours and 1200 noon, Issakah spotted the victim near a provision store and lured her into his mother’s room and had sex with the victim.

The prosecution said after the act, the accused gave the victim GH¢1.00 and warned her not tell anyone.

He said, however, when the victim was coming out of the room, some people saw her and informed the complainant.

The prosecution said when the victim was questioned by the complainant, she narrated her ordeal to her and a report was made to the Tesano Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOOVSU) where a medical report was issued to the complainant to seek medical care for the victim.

The prosecution said when the medical report form was returned to the Police, the accused was arrested on January 20, 2018.

The prosecution said when cautioned by the Police, the accused denied the offence, but at the crime scene, he confessed to the crime and a confession statement was obtained from him.

GNA