House help identifies rapist in court

Kumasi, June 24, GNA - A 12-year-old girl on Thursday identified a watchman standing trial at a Kumasi circuit court as the man who defiled her.

Ali Grushie at first, vehemently protested his innocence, insisting that he did not know the victim and therefore refused to give his name, age, occupation and hometown during police investigations.

"My Lord, how can the victim identify me when the police are claiming that the alleged defilement took place at an obscure place in the night".

However, after the victim identified him, he pleaded with the court to deal leniently with him, since he was a poor man and had nobody to come to his aid if he was imprisoned.

He therefore pleaded guilty and was remanded in prison custody to re-appear on July 8.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Regina Kesewaa told the court that in the latter part of April, this year, the victim who resides at Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi, was sent to the Kejetia lorry park to collect foodstuffs from her aunt.

She said whilst returning with the foodstuffs at about 20:30 hours, Grushie who is a watchman at Kejetia, followed her, grabbed and blind folded the girl and sent her to an obscure place where he forcibly defiled her and went into hiding.

Chief Inspector Kesewaa said the victim, who had earlier kept the incident to herself, revealed it to her aunt a week later when she started feeling abdominal pains and fell seriously ill.

She said when the victim was sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH, a medical report confirmed that she had been defiled and consequently a report was made to the police who arrested the accused at Kejetia last Friday. 24 June 04