A 21-year-old unemployed man has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a six-year-old girl at Odorkor in Accra.
Theophilus Asante pleaded not guilty to the crime, but at the end of the trial, he was found guilty by the court presided over by Mrs Christiana Cann and sentenced accordingly.
Passing the sentence, the court took into consideration the gravity of the offence, its prevalence in society, age of the victim, the need to protect the sanity, chastity and dignity of children, and the plea of the convict’s lawyer.
“You showed no mercy to the child and do not deserve to be shown mercy,” the judge said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP) Agnes Boafo, who prosecuted the case, told the court that the complainant, Mary Afrakoma, was the mother of the victim and resided in the same house as Theophilus.
On December 26, 2019, at about 10 a.m., the complainant left the victim alone to visit the washroom. Upon her return, she saw Theophilus in her hall holding the victim’s teddy bear. She became suspicious and questioned the victim.
She disclosed that Theophilus sexually abused her on a sofa in the hall.
He was immediately arrested and charged with the offence he, however, denied the offence in his caution statement.
The victim was issued a police medical form for examination and treatment.