Farmer Charged With Indecent Assault

Anthony Joe, a 20-year-old man from Wawase in the Twifo-Heman-Lower-Denkyira District was on Tuesday arraigned before a community tribunal at Twifo-Praso for indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl.

His plea was not taken and he was granted bail in the sum of one Million cedis to reappear on Tuesday, November 12.

Prosecuting, police inspector Samuel Kojo Kpogo told the tribunal chaired by Mr. Joseph P. Ankomah that sometime in January, this year, the suspect lured the girl, from her school at Twifo-Heman, and took her into a toilet nearby and inserted his fingers into her private part.

The prosecutor further alleged that Kpogo then warned the girl, not to tell anyone, but she fell ill a few days later, and upon questioning by her mother, disclosed what Kpogo did to her.

Her mother made a report to the police and Kpogo was arrested, the prosecution added.

At the same tribunal, Francis Arthur, a pastor at the Zion church at Twifo-Aboabo, was fined 100,000 cedis for causing unlawful damage to an oil palm nursery belonging to Opanyin Kojo Anku, a farmer.

Arthur, who pleaded guilty, will go to prison for one year in default of payment of the fine.

He was bonded to be of good behaviour for six months or face a three -month jail term, and ordered to pay 240,000 cedis being the cost of the nursery.

The prosecution told the tribunal that on October 10, this year, Arthur, went to Opanyin Anku's farm and uprooted oil palm seedlings he had planted, and was arrested following a tip-off.