Defilement of 4-year-old: Rapist on the run

The 17-year-old boy, who was said to have defiled a four-year-old girl at Assin Addientem in the Central Region, is reportedly at large.

The Central Regional Police Command has launched a massive search for the boy identified only as Kwabena.

Kwabena, earlier reports suggested, was declared innocent of any wrongdoing by the chief of the area after their gods were supposedly consulted in connection with the crime.

The purportedly defiled the toddler, according to reports, is currently battling for her life at the St Francis Xavier Hospital in the Central Region.

Central Regional Police Commander COP Reverend Ampah Benin, said efforts were being made to get the suspect apprehended to aid in investigation.

A massive search is currently ongoing in the community and its surroundings to get the suspect arrested.

Reports gathered have indicated that Kwabena absconded after his alleged heinous crime became public.

Reports from the police have also revealed that medical examination conducted on the girl at the hospital testified to the defilement.

The manhunt for the teen came after the Regional Police Commander had summoned the Assin Fosu Divisional Police Commander, DOVSU Coordinator and the head of the Department of Gender, for a meeting on Thursday.

The parents of the victim had expressed frustration in their fight for justice after the chief was reported to have said that the gods had declared the suspect innocent.

DSP Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman, Director in-charge of Public Affairs Department, on Thursday, said the Inspector General of Police (IGP) had directed the regional command to take over the investigation after it was allegedly reported that the chief of the area and the district police command had refused to take action.

DSP Abayie-Buckman hinted that the investigation would focus firstly on how to save the life of the child – whether police procedures were duly followed and generally ensuring that justice is done.

“A police clinical psychologist, who is attached to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit in Accra, has been assigned to assist the process,” a statement authored by the police officer indicated.

She therefore assured the public that any person, who is culpable of wrongdoing, including the police officers, would be dealt with according to the law.