Two jailed 15 years for defilement

Accra, June 7, GNA - A 19-year-old welder who defiled a five-year-old girl at Agbogba, near Madina, was on Monday sentenced to eight years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.

Abu Imoro who pleaded guilty to defilement told the court that he did not know what came over him on the day of the incident. Prosecuting, Police Inspector Anthony Afetsi, told the court presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa that the victim lives with her mother at Agbogba, near Madina.

Imoro also lives in the same vicinity.

The prosecution said on May 17, this year, the victim's mother was washing the victim's panty and saw blood stains; when she asked the victim, she mentioned Imoro as the person who defiled her in a kiosk. It said a report was lodged with the Police at Agbogba and Imoro was arrested.

Later the case was transferred to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at Madina, and after investigations Imoro was charged with the offence.

In another development, the court sentenced a 26-year-old trader Benjamin Markwei to seven years imprisonment for defiling a 12-year-old girl. Although Markwei pleaded not guilty to defilement, the court found him guilty. The court rejected Markwei's claims that since 2008, he had been suffering from erectile dysfunction. Prosecuting, Police Inspector I.A.A. Ahor told the court that on November 22, last year, the convict asked the victim to pick up a bowl from his room. As soon as the victim entered the room, Markwei followed up and defiled her. Pleading for mitigation, Markwei, a father of one, told the court that he was the bread-winner in the family and convicting him would bring untold hardship on the family. Based on his plea, the court convicted him to the minimum sentence of seven years.