Two persons were yesterday sentenced to a total of 17 years imprisonment with hard labour by an Accra Circuit Court for defilement and indecent assault.
The court presided over by Ms Sedina Agbemeva, in separate judgements, jailed Kwame Gyimah, 47, a construction labourer to 13 years for defiling a 12-year-old minor while James Ntim Gyakari got three years for indecent assault.
Conviction
Sentencing Gyimah, the trial judge said the accused had betrayed the trust the victim had in him in respect of the age difference between himself and the victim.
She said the accused who had denied the offence had also infected the victim with a disease as a result of the defilement, adding that there would be no mitigation factors in favour of Gyimah.
Ms. Agbemeva nonetheless said she had taken into consideration the fact that the accused had been in custody since February 1, 2013 and accordingly jailed him 13 years.
Facts
At the initial stage of the trial, Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbiri told the court that the complainant in the case is a pensioner and grandparent to the victim and resided at Anyaa N.I.C with the accused.
He said at about 7:30 am on December 15, 2012, the victim was going to buy charcoal at a nearby house when the accused called her to his place of abode and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her.
Detective Inspector Atimbiri said the victim, after the act, started crying and went to inform the complainant who in turn reported the matter to the police, leading to Gyimah?s arrest.
Ntim Gyakari Gets 3yrs
?You could not find anybody above 18 to do that to you than an eight-year-old?? Ms. Agbemeva asked Ntim Gyakari.
She was of the view that being a teacher the accused ought to have known better, adding that there would be no mitigation factors in his favour.
Ntim Gyakari was said to have defiled the victim and further on June 14, 2014, inserted his penis into her mouth.
Presenting the facts, ASP Sarah Acquah said the complainant is a broadcaster and the accused a teacher residing in the same vicinity with the victim and complainant.
She said in May, this year, the accused lured the victim into his room and had sex with her, and in June, he again lured her into his room to suck his penis.
However, the prosecution continued that a witness in the case saw the accused through the window and alerted the complainant who in turn reported the matter to the police.
Ntim Gyakari would reappear in court on July 24, 2014, to face the charge of defilement.
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By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
