Alleged rapist arrested

The Steering Committee of the “Stop Rape” Campaign wishes to inform the general public that due to its follow up on a reported case of rape in Teshie in Accra, the alleged perpetrator has been arrested and will be arraigned before the court on Monday 6th July 2020.

This comes at the backdrop of a massive 40-Day campaign against rape by the YAWC Network which has included in its objectives, creating a platform for victims to share their ordeal, and if they consent, a formal complaint launched against the suspected perpetrator(s).

A tip-off to the Steering Committee of the campaign by a medical officer with the LEKMA Hospital, Teshie suggested that the mother of a victim after suspecting that her child could be in danger after she was defiled by a 21-year-old man took her daughter to the afore-mentioned hospital for check-up and treatment.

However, the hospital asked for a police report form from the mother of the victim which she got but refused to send it back to the police station after it was filled. Apparently, the alleged perpetrator is a cousin of the victim, and the mum being an aunt, succumbed to pressure from the family not to implicate the alleged perpetrator, one of their own.

Nonetheless, upon the tip-off through the platform created through the 40-day Campaign against rape, the Steering Committee took steps to engage the mother of the victim and took further steps to ensure the arrest of the alleged perpetrator, who goes by the name, Maxwell Appiah.

The arrest was made by the police in the company of some members on the Steering Committee on Saturday 4th July at 4 am at the residence of the victim at Teshie. Further interrogations revealed that Maxwell, 21 had defiled her little cousin, 8 years, on five (5) different occasions. It was on the 5th count that the victim was caught by a neighbour who relayed the incidence to the mother of the victim. He is currently in police custody waiting to be arraigned before court.

ExLA Group, the mother organisation to the YAWC Network together with our partners, IGRED Ghana, Economic Fighters League, and Bambu Centre wish to reiterate our stands in the fight against rape; its time to do away with victim-blaming. We are on a mission of naming, shaming, and prosecuting the perpetrator and we want to encourage all victims of rape to speak up. We have all the measures in place to protect their identity.

Meanwhile, the campaign continues, and we urge all women and men to join forces with us to fight this menace while pushing for stricter punishment for rapists. We also wish to thank all individuals, groups, and organisations who have supported us in this fight. We are making significant progress and we are not relenting.