Painter jailed 20 years for defiling six-year old

Bright James, a painter, has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for defiling a six-year old girl at Nungua.

James, 29, was found guilty by the court presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin Doku.

When the court asked James what he had to say before sentence was handed down, he told the court that: “I have nothing to say. I am not ready for the judgment. I am not in a good mood to say anything. My son is sick and I am disturbed.”

However, Mr George Donkor, a lawyer, who acted as a friend of the Court, implored the Court to tamper justice with mercy and give James the minimum sentence.

Mr Donkor also apologised to the Court for James’ pronouncements, saying he was a first offender and he should be dealt with leniently.

According to counsel, the Court should also consider the number of days he had spent in custody when the trial was going on.

The Counsel noted that the Prisons were already choked and giving the accused person a higher sentence would compound the problems at the prison.

Prosecuting, Detective Inspector Kofi Atimbire said the victim’s mother was the complainant, while James was a relative of the complainant’s husband. They resided in the same house at Nungua.

On August 14, last year, the complainant observed that the victim made a sound as if she was having sex, any time she was lying on the bed.

The Prosecution said the complainant interviewed the victim and she informed to her mother that James had had sex with her and demonstrated how the accused person had sex with her.

The complainant went to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit at Nungua and a medical form was issued to her to send the victim to a medical facility for examination.

The accused was, subsequently, nabbed by the Police.