A 24-year-old man has been slapped with 10 years in jail for having bouts of unprotected sex with a minor for eight days.
Akorlatsey Kofi Adams pleaded guilty to the charge of defilement, contrary to section 101(2) of the Criminal Offences Act (29), 1960
He was sentenced on his own plea.
According to the prosecution, the victim left home unexpectedly on October 15, this year, at about 8:00 pm, only to return on October 22, 2020.
When questioned by her mother about where she had been, the victim said, “the accused had lured her to his residence and had bouts of unprotected sex with her”.
“The victim indicated that the accused after the sexual escapades warned her not to inform anyone,” Deputy Superintendent of Police, Agnes Boafo, told the court.
Angered by what her daughter told her, the minor’s mother reported the case to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at the Airport Police Station.
Personnel from DOVVSU subsequently issued the complainant with a medical form for the victim to be examined in a healthcare facility.
Adams was arrested and a caution statement obtained from him.
While sentencing the accused, the presiding judge, Christiana Cann, said the 10 years in prison would serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.
“With all the seriousness given to the case, with the prevalence of the case [defilement and rape] in the country, the age of the victim, he must be jailed 10 years,” the judge said.
Research by theghanareport has revealed that 96 children below ages of 15 were defiled in Accra alone for 2019.
The figure constitutes the number of only reported cases being tried at the Accra Circuit in 2019.
Many experts say this figure could be more as parents of rape victims, for fear of social rejection and “shame” refuse to report such incidents to authorities.
In some cases, even when the cases are reported, the intervention of highly placed persons lead to these cases being withdrawn to be settled at home. Also, in some cases, compensations are offered to the victim and family.
And this is the scenario across the length and breadth of the country, which suggests that a lot more girls are defiled almost on daily basis.
