He was arrested following the complaint and admitted to the offence during police investigations
Correspondence from Eastern Region
A Circuit Court in Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region has sentenced a teacher to 10 years in prison with hard labour after he was found guilty of sex extortion, in violation of Section 66(1) of the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038).
The convict, identified as Smart Kumi, 27, was charged after a fellow teacher, Bernadette Dzigbordi Agbeko, reported him to authorities on April 23, 2025.
According to the complainant, Kumi used nude photographs of her—originally taken with his iPhone during their friendship—to blackmail her into having sex with him.
The victim, a teacher at the Modern Preparatory School, a privately owned school in Odumase-Krobo, told police that although Kumi had earlier proposed a romantic relationship, which she declined, they maintained a casual friendship.
She explained that during this period, she occasionally used Kumi’s iPhone to take personal pictures, unaware that he was secretly keeping them for malicious purposes.
Prosecutors, ASP Asante Kusi Augustine and Chief Inspector Kwaku Brahene, told the Court that Kumi began sending the images back to Dzigbordi and demanding sexual favours, threatening to publish the photos on her social media and other platforms if she refused.
He was arrested following the complaint and admitted to the offence during police investigations. On April 27, 2025, Kumi first appeared before the Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Abadoo Appiatse. He pleaded guilty to the charge of sex extortion but had his sentencing deferred and was remanded into custody to reappear at a later date.
On July 30, 2025, Kumi reappeared in court, this time represented by legal counsel. He maintained his guilty plea and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment with hard labour.
During the investigation, Kumi told police that the complainant was his girlfriend and claimed they had previously engaged in sexual intercourse.
The conviction marks a firm judicial response to cyber-related sexual extortion under Ghana’s relatively new Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038), underscoring the growing legal consequences of digital abuse and online exploitation.
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