Rapist slapped with a 30-year jail sentence

Kumasi, Aug. 19, GNA - Eric Adjei Bawuah, a 28-year-old gym instructor, accused of rape and robbery of a teenage apprentice seamstress at a public place was on Wednesday sentenced to 30 years in jail by a Kumasi Circuit Court.

He pleaded not guilty and had insisted that the lady is a commercial sex worker, whose services, he paid for. The Court presided over by Mr Adjei Frimpong, however found his evidence not credible and described the accused as a bully and a stigma on society.

"Prostitution is not a license to rape", the Judge said, when giving his ruling.

The facts of the case as presented by Nana Akua Adu-Gyamfi, a State Attorney, were that on July 29, at about 0400 hours, the victim who resides in Nungua in Accra was heading towards the Asafo Neoplan Station to board a vehicle to Accra after visiting the sister. Bawuah emerged from nowhere, grabbed her hand and pulled her into a taxi cab he had signalled to stop.

The convict, who had all this while pulled a knife, ordered the driver to drive them to a nearby washing bay. There, he dragged the helpless lady to a drinking spot, ignored her protestations, tore into shreds a pair of trousers she was wearing and forcibly had sex with her.

The victim's continued screaming attracted the attention of some neighbours, who quickly alerted the police. The police responded swiftly and arrested Bawuah right in the act.