Accra, Dec. 15, GNA – The Court of Appeal Wednesday granted Ghanaian actress Rosemond Alade Brown, aka Akuapem Poloo, the option to end her 90-day imprisonment by paying a fine of GHc12,000.
This was after the Court overturned the decision of the High Court, which had earlier ruled that Akuapem poloo’s sentenced was not excessively harsh and thus should not be disturbed.
In its ruling, the three-member panel of the Appellate court, presided over by Justice Henry Anthony Kwoffie, advised the 32-year-old social media influencer to amend “her foolish ways”.
Akuapem Poloo, who had earlier been on bail for months, in default of paying the fine will continue serving her 90-day term, the Court of Appeal ruled.
She was convicted on April 16, this year, by an Accra Circuit Court, presided by Mrs Christina Cann, for posting a picture of her nude body with her her seven-year-old son on social media.
The actress was also convicted for publication of obscene materials, engaging in domestic violence namely a conduct that in any way undermined another person’s privacy or integrity, and engaging in domestic violence, namely conduct that in any way detracted or was likely to detract from another person’s dignity and worth as a human being.
Rosemond, soon after her sentence on April 16, knelt down and begged the trial judge, Mrs Christina Cann, many times to have mercy on her amidst tears.
“My Lord, Maa, please I beg you,” Rosemond pleaded.
At the last sitting on April 14, she had changed her plea of not guilty to guilty.
The court thus convicted Rosemond on her own plea, after she was remanded into police custody to undergo a pregnancy test ahead of the sentencing.
She was sentenced to 90 days each on all the three counts of charges, which were to run concurrently.
Mrs Cann, in delivering the sentence, noted that apart from cankers such as rape, defilement, among others, the act of posting obscene pictures was becoming rampant.
She said it was time that citizens upheld societal morals and the court must take a lead in that direction.
The court noted that Rosemond did not respect the right of her son before posting the pictures, adding that it would hand down a sentence that would deter other like-minded persons.
The court said the sentence considered the intrinsic seriousness of the offence, prevalence of the offence, the degree of revulsion of the offence and the gravity of the offence.
Her sentence was, however, met with sympathy from the public and some prominent citizens who pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy.
She also appealed her conviction at the high court, which ruled that sentence was not excessively harsh.
GNA