Father of alleged incest granted bail

Accra, July 12, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday granted bail t= o a military officer who allegedly raped and impregnated his 16-year-old daughter. The court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah Datsa, granted George Koffie GH¢10,000 bail to re-appear on July 19 and assist in investigation= s. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sarah Acquah told the court that the victim, a student in a second cycle institution, on May 18 this year, reported to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service about an alleged rape by her biological father. She said the accused asked the victim to accompany him to Accra to buy her a pair of shoes and on their way asked the victim if she could keep a secret which she gave an affirmative answer.

ASP Acquah said the accused after buying her the shoes drove her to a hotel and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her and warned her not to reveal it to anyone else he would kill her and kill himself. On the same day at about 2:30pm, the accused again took the victim in his car under the pretext of sending her to school but drove her to another hotel at La, an Accra suburb, and had sex with her again. The prosecutor said the accused after having sex with the victim took her to Tema Station to board a vehicle to her school.

She said when the victim detected that she was pregnant, she called he= r mother to report what her father had done, and her mother asked her to come home to Burma Camp in Accra. When the victim arrived, her mother bought some drugs for her and told her not to disclose the ordeal to anyone as it would be a disgrace to the entire family. ASP Acquah said when the victim insisted on reporting the incest to th= e police, her mother, Margaret Amoako, locked her up in a room and beat her u= p to put fear into her.

When the victim finally reported the case to the Police, a medical report form was given to her to attend hospital for examination after which the accused was arrested and charged with the offence.