Parents of defiled victims can't accept settlements

Parents, family heads and community leaders who initiate settlement of defilement and rape cases would be arrested and prosecuted, Mr. Augustine Luguyare, Aflao Police Commander, has warned.

He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the practice was rampant in the communities of Aflao, Denu, Blekusu and Agavedzi.

Mr. Luguyare said families of victims only came running to the police when culprits failed to pay compensation packages.

He said by the time the complaints got to his outfit, sometimes eight weeks or more after the crimes, critical clues needed for investigations and prosecution of the suspects were eroded.

Mr. Luguyare said the Aflao Police was currently handling six of such cases where it is difficult to establish evidence.

He wondered why parents were behaving this way, despite the regular sensitization programs in the areas about the handling of defilement cases in particular.

“The Police will crack the whip by taking such parents on for violating the laws on defilement and rape,” Mr. Luguyare stated.

He said such cases were purely criminal ones, which only the security and the courts could handle.

In another development, the police said the recent Easter festivities in the area were “the most peaceful for several years”.

Mr. Luguyare said there were only six criminal cases aside minor drunken behaviours between 18 and 22 April, this year.

The commander, who did not provide comparative data, said in all, only four arrests, two for cellular phone snatching and the other two for pick-pocketing at the Aflao beach were made.