An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 26-year-old plumber and hairstylist to 12 years in prison for sexual extortion.
Philip Spain Narh is said to have taken advantage of a 19-year-old SHS graduate by having vaginal and anal sex with her under the false promise of helping her become a web designer.
Unknown to the victim, Narh recorded their sexual encounter and published the footage online, intending to blackmail her.
He was charged with seven counts of sexual extortion, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, publication or sale of obscene material, and unlawful possession of narcotic drugs.
Narh pleaded not guilty to the charges but was found guilty after a full trial.
Prosecution’s facts before the court indicated that the complainant (name withheld), a 19-year-old Senior High School graduate, lives with her parents in Kpone, near Tema in the Greater Accra Region.
Narh, also known as Sharon Stuttgart Woods, is a 26-year-old plumber and hairstylist, residing in Bawaleshie near Dodowa with his father.
In late 2020, the complainant was introduced to the convict by a girl named Delphine, whom she met on Telegram, an online social media platform.
Prosecution stated that the convict created the false impression that he was a female German-American named Sharon Stuttgart Woods, working in financial services and visiting Ghana for business. Narh also portrayed himself as a philanthropist passionate about helping “black girls” achieve their dreams and promised to assist the complainant in studying abroad at MIT, Massachusetts.
The complainant expressed her interest in IT and web development to “her,” with a long-term goal of creating Artificial Intelligence.
In December 2020, the convict claimed to have arrived in Ghana and arranged to meet the complainant at a hotel in Dodowa. However, the convict later changed the location, directing her to a place in Bawaleshie, supposedly owned by “her” driver’s brother. Unknown to the victim, the driver’s brother was, in fact, the convict himself.
When the complainant arrived at the location, the convict demanded that she have sex with the driver, which would be recorded as a test of her loyalty. He then forcibly had sex with her and recorded the encounter.
Feeling ashamed for “acting foolishly and losing her virginity in that manner,” the complainant refused to meet with the convict again and deleted her Telegram account when he demanded more sex.
The convict, determined to fulfill his sexual desires, reached out to the victim under the name “Valquez Rodeo De Mel” and blackmailed her. He threatened to leak the sex video unless she agreed to have oral and anal sex with him twice a month.
On January 5, 2021, Narh published the complainant’s nude photos and sex video on a Telegram porn channel called “ADULT HOUSE,” sending the link to the victim. After watching the video, she became deeply distressed and suicidal. She confided in her best friend, who advised her to go back and comply with Narh’s demands.
On January 12, 2021, the complainant met with the convict to plead with him to speak to “Stuttgart Woods” and have the nude photos and video removed. However, Narh became violent and forcibly had oral and vaginal sex with her, continuing to blackmail her by recording the acts.
The victim, who remained suicidal, eventually confided in her coding tutor, who noticed her distress. He helped her report the matter to the police.
Narh was arrested, and a search of his room led to the recovery of two mobile phones containing the complainant’s nude photos and sex videos. Additionally, the police found a quantity of seeds, dried powdery substances, and liquid substances suspected to be narcotics.
The suspected narcotic substances were sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory for testing. On June 30, 2021, the report revealed that the powdery substances weighed 95.13 grams, the seeds weighed 1.10 grams, and another substance contained 73.37 grams. All substances tested positive for cannabis sativa.
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