Thomas Tetteh broke down in tears immediately the Accra Circuit Court slapped him with a 10-year jail term in hard labour for defiling an 11-year-old girl.
In total anguish and regret, the 34-year-old electrician sobbed bitterly perhaps upon realizing that he was going to throw away 10 years of his youthful life because of his inability to control his libido.
Tetteh pleaded guilty to a charge of defilement and was convicted by the court, presided over by Mrs Janet Harriet Akweley Quaye, on his own plea.
Secret lover
The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Ms Agnes Boafo, informed the court that Tetteh was a secret lover of the 10-year-old girl and had continuously had sexual relationship with her.
The relationship developed because Tetteh was a regular visitor to the victim’s mother’s drinking bar.
After many sexual encounters with the victim, Tetteh’s cup finally became full when on September 8, 2017, he lured the girl into a mechanic shop and had sex with her in an abandoned taxi cab.
“After the act, he released the girl to go home. Her mother spotted her and it was there she took her home and subjected her to an intensive interrogation. The girl revealed the secret and disclosed that Tetteh had had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions,’’ the prosecutor said.
ASP Boafo added that the mother of the girl immediately reported the matter to the police, leading to Tetteh’s arrest.
Sentence
Passing sentence, Mrs Quaye said she took into consideration the fact that Tetteh readily admitted his guilt and did not waste the court’s time.
She, however, said the convict was old enough to know that his action was a serious offence under the laws of Ghana.
“Defilement is a serious offence with a minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum of 25 years. He is hereby sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in hard labour,’’ the presiding judge ruled.