Man weeps in court over ten-year defilement jail term

Thomas Tetteh, a thirty-four-year-old electrician, on Thursday wept uncontrollably after an Accra Circuit Court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment in hard labour for frequently defiling an 11 year old girl at Teshie.

Tetteh who was charged with defilement pleaded guilty and the court presided over by Mrs Jane Harriet Akweley Quaye convicted him on his own plea. He is said to have had sex with the victim in a faulty taxi parked at a Mechanic Shop at Teshie but luck eluded him when the victim was quizzed over her absence in the house.

Handing down the sentence, the court said it had heard the plea for mitigation put in by Mr Andy K. Vortia, a lawyer who acted as a friend of the court and the fact that the convict had not wasted the court's time by pleading guilty.

However the court indicated that Tetteh was not young but a full grown man who was aware of his deeds. Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Agnes Boafo told the court that the complainant was the mother of the victim.

According to ASP Boafo, Tetteh comes from La but periodically visited a drinking spot at Teshie which was also near the complainant’s house.

Prosecution said based on Tetteh’s regular visits, he developed an acquaintance with some of the children within the vicinity including the victim. Tetteh therefore convinced the victim and had sexual intercourse with her but warned her not inform any one.

On September 8, this year, prosecution said during the night, Tetteh went to the said drinking spot and saw the victim around the place and lured her to a nearby mechanic shop, pushed her into a faulty taxi and had sex with her.

ASP Boafo told the court that the complainant looked for her in the area to no avail. When the victim got home, the complainant quizzed her and she let the cat out of the bag adding that the accused had been having sex with her on several occasions.

The complainant informed the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service at Nungua and the accused was nabbed while the victim was given a medical form to seek medical attention.