The resident pastor of the Fruitful Family Ministries Inc. Tamale branch, Daniel Appiah Antwi, 35, will today appear before a Tamale circuit court for allegedly defiling his 15-year-old maid at Kpalsi, a suburb of the Tamale metropolis.
Pastor Antwi, who has admitted sexually molesting the girl severally in the open court and in his caution statement, could face up to 25 years’ imprisonment term if found guilty of the offence, according to lawyers.
He has already been slapped with a 60-day jail term with hard labour by the same court for physically assaulting the maid.
According to the facts of the case, the victim (name withheld) is an orphan who lives with her cousin, the pastor’s wife, as a house help and suffered various forms of abuses by the couple.
Attempts by cotenants to rescue the girl from the alleged inhumane treatment meted out to her rather incurred the wrath of Pastor Antwi, who was reported to have threatened to vent his spleen on any intruder. The accused and his wife reportedly travelled and left their older ward under the care of the victim with 5kg of rice and some tubers of yam. On their return, however, they noticed that the food stock had been depleted and out of fury, the accused allegedly picked a computer cable and mercilessly beat the girl.
As a result, the maid was said to have sustained a deep cut on her head and bled profusely but was not given proper medical care by the pastor.
Public-spirited persons in the neighbourhood reported the conduct of the pastor to the Tamale office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), which in turn referred it to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.
After investigations, the pastor was arrested for physically assaulting the victim and causing harm to her.
In the course of investigations, it was also established by the police that the minor had on countless occasions been sexually abused by Pastor Daniel Appiah Antwi. He had initially said the allegation of defilement was a plot against him by his enemies but later admitted committing the offence and blamed the devil for it.
A medical report obtained from the Tamale Central Hospital by the police confirmed that the victim had indeed been sexually abused.
Meanwhile, the court has directed that the victim be kept at the Tamale Children’s Home pending the determination of who would take custody of her.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Christ Apostolic Church Elder defiles girl, 15
A 15-year-old class six pupil is battling for her life after she was continuously defiled by an Elder of the Christ Apostolic Church in Akwaduuso, a farming community in the Atiwa District of the Eastern Region.
The suspect, Jonathan Okine is believed to have forced himself on the victim on different locations including, the farm, animal Pen and on a toilet.
The minor reportedly narrated her ordeal to her parents after she bled profusely last week. She was then rushed to the Abomosu health center where she was later referred to the Engresi Government Hospital for specialized treatment.
Narrating her ordeal to starr News’ Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah, the victim said the suspect lured her to the locations while her mother was away from home. She was given GHC1 after each encounter.
Meanwhile, the Leadership of the church in the area led by the Presiding Elder, Isaac Ayetey, is reportedly pleading for an amicable resolution of the case.
A bottle of schnapps has already been given to the father of the victim by the church ahead of a meeting with the traditional authorities in the area.
The suspect, Jonathan Okine is believed to have forced himself on the victim on different locations including, the farm, animal Pen and on a toilet.
The minor reportedly narrated her ordeal to her parents after she bled profusely last week. She was then rushed to the Abomosu health center where she was later referred to the Engresi Government Hospital for specialized treatment.
Narrating her ordeal to starr News’ Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah, the victim said the suspect lured her to the locations while her mother was away from home. She was given GHC1 after each encounter.
Meanwhile, the Leadership of the church in the area led by the Presiding Elder, Isaac Ayetey, is reportedly pleading for an amicable resolution of the case.
A bottle of schnapps has already been given to the father of the victim by the church ahead of a meeting with the traditional authorities in the area.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Witchcraft branding and the abuse of African children in the UK: causes, effects and professional intervention
Prospera Tedam
Early Child Development and Care 10/2014; 184(9-10). DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2014.901015
ABSTRACT The branding of children as ‘witches’, capable of harming others is a widespread practice in some countries in Africa and across the world. There is evidence of this within specific communities and faith groups; however, the extent to which this phenomenon occurs in England is unclear as is the response by childcare professionals, statutory agencies and Voluntary Organisations.
Between 2000 and 2010, at least six children lost their lives in different parts of the UK following periods of abuse, neglect and trauma linked to what is now known as abuse arising from being labelled ‘witches’. Each of these children, died because their parent or carer believed that they were responsible for ill luck, ill fortune and/or ill health that had befallen them and/or members of their families.
Drawing upon a children's rights framework, this paper aims to provide a critical examination of child abuse that is caused by a belief that children can and are ‘witches’ or possess some evil spirits, making them capable of causing harm and discord within a family. Existing literature will be interrogated to provide some background and a historical context to this alarming and abusive practice.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/265341808_Witchcraft_branding_and_the_abuse_of_African_children_in_the_UK_causes_effects_and_professional_intervention
Ghana: Witchcraft Accusations in Schools
Details Written by Leo Igwe C Published: 05 July 2013
http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/2166-ghana-witchcraft-accusations-in-schools.html
Witchcraft suspicion is ubiquitous in Ghana, a deeply pervasive social reality simmering under the social surface. An unexpected death, sudden disease or misfortune trigger suspicions. Suspicion murmurs into accusation. Accusations can justify exile or death at the hands of a mob.
Suspicion of witchcraft can touch men as well as women, the very old and even children can be branded witches. Witchcraft accusation and resulting execution occurs in rural and urban areas, on the streets, in the market places, on farms and in offices. Schools and colleges are not immune, teachers and students accuse and are accused.
No one is above suspicion of practicing malevolent magic. But witchcraft accusation has dreadful consequences. It is a stigma that socially discredits the accused. A witch is a criminal, a destroyer of life and property, a bloodthirsty murderer who kills others through mysterious spiritual means. A witch is seen as conniving and dangerous.
Witchcraft "Spoils your name." Witchcraft shames and disgraces the accused and even the family of the accused. Accusation stains the reputation of all it touches. The accused are forced to flee their homes, forced into witch camps or killed. The whisper of accusation strikes fear of ruin and death.
In 2012, a 17 year old girl was forced to leave school and then was banished to a witch camp in Gambaga following an accusation The girl was intelligent excelling in her tests and examinations, but she was accused of "Stealing other students’ brains" with witchcraft and spells. It took the intervention of the Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Women and Children Affairs for the girl to be released from the witch camp and returned to her family.
The future of another teenage girl, Roda, in Nalerigu, in the Northern Region of Ghana is hanging in the balance at this writing. She is accused of bewitching the school prefect and preventing him from taking this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). She is in junior high school and was to graduate in the coming year.
Last December the school prefect, a senior, punished Roda and out of anger she told the boy that he would not write this year’s BECE. Seven months later, a few weeks before the examination, the school prefect took ill. He could not see properly and could not sit for the BECE. The school prefect was rushed to a nearby hospital, the Baptist Medical Centre, where he received some treatment.
Roda was branded a witch. She was accused of being responsible for the illness, of making the boy blind through witchcraft. The matter was reported to the headmaster of the school who urged Roda to ‘forgive’ the school prefect and to undo whatever witchcraft she used on him. But Roda was crying and repeatedly said that she did not know anything about the sickness; that she never did anything to the prefect apart from the threat she issued. But nobody believed her.
The matter was taken to the chief of Nalerigu where the school was located but the chief referred the matter to the chief of Gambaga, known as the Gambarana. The Gambarana is not only the traditional political head of Gambaga but also the spiritual head. He performs rituals to confirm or cleanse accused persons of witchcraft. He is the custodian of the Gambaga ‘witch’ camp.
According to Roda, after listening to their stories the Gambarana decided, Roda may be a witch and she may have used witchcraft. But instead of performing a ritual to confirm if Roda was actually a witch. He had her returned to the chief of Nalerigu to resolve the matter.
The community was now sure that Roda was a witch, and that she made the school prefect blind. Many people suspected that she got the ‘witchcraft’ she used on the school prefect from her father. But her father denied knowing anything about the sickness or giving any ‘juju’ to his daughter.
I visited the prefect at the hospital and noticed that he was not blind as had been rumored but was not seeing properly either. He could see and identify human beings but could not properly see or read words and sentences typed or written on a book or paper. According medical officials at the hospital, the school prefect had a heart problem; the boy's heart was failing. And due to the heart condition, the body organs including the eyes were not functioning properly. They said there was nothing wrong with the eyes. If the heart condition were rectified, the vision would be restored.
This medical center has limited facilities to diagnose and treat heart related problems so there are plans to refer him to hospitals with better equipment and specialists in Kumasi or Accra for a second opinion. The family of the boy is poor and needs financial assistance to carry out further medical examination.
Meanwhile Roda has dropped out of school. She is currently staying with her parents in the village. They are worried that she might be harmed due to the witchcraft accusation. It took a lot of negotiation for the parents and the elders in the community to allow me to see and interview her. I was questioned about my mission and cleared by chiefs in two different communities before I was able to meet with her. Finally I was allowed to visit Roda in her village.
Roda said she stopped attending school because she could no longer move and interact freely in the community. In the school and on the streets, people jeered at her calling her a witch. And in the school, students made caricatures of her. Some were afraid of coming close to her. Others attributed any slight scratch or bruise on their body to her ‘witch chopping’ scheme. She said she felt miserable and unsafe because the family and friends of the school prefect were angry with her. They believed she made him ‘blind’ and prevented him from taking the BECE. She and her parents have moved to another village where she is currently staying. But the witchcraft allegation has followed her.
Roda’s parents said following the accusation, they decided to withdraw her from the school so that she could marry, a plan I vehemently opposed. But they worried that it would be difficult to find her another school within the area because of the stigma of witchcraft accusation. Only after persistent persuasion did the parents pledge to send her to the regional capital, Tamale, so that she could continue her education there. I had pressured them into making this promise. In the future I will have to monitor the situation to see if they have fulfilled this pledge.
If efforts are not made to support her, the girl will lose her education to an accusation of witchcraft. She is one of many.
Leo Igwe is a skeptical activist in Nigeria and a former representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He is partnering with the JREF to respond in a more organized and grassroots way to the growing superstitious beliefs about witchcraft throughout the continent of Africa.
http://archive.randi.org/site/index.php/swift-blog/2166-ghana-witchcraft-accusations-in-schools.html
Witchcraft suspicion is ubiquitous in Ghana, a deeply pervasive social reality simmering under the social surface. An unexpected death, sudden disease or misfortune trigger suspicions. Suspicion murmurs into accusation. Accusations can justify exile or death at the hands of a mob.
Suspicion of witchcraft can touch men as well as women, the very old and even children can be branded witches. Witchcraft accusation and resulting execution occurs in rural and urban areas, on the streets, in the market places, on farms and in offices. Schools and colleges are not immune, teachers and students accuse and are accused.
No one is above suspicion of practicing malevolent magic. But witchcraft accusation has dreadful consequences. It is a stigma that socially discredits the accused. A witch is a criminal, a destroyer of life and property, a bloodthirsty murderer who kills others through mysterious spiritual means. A witch is seen as conniving and dangerous.
Witchcraft "Spoils your name." Witchcraft shames and disgraces the accused and even the family of the accused. Accusation stains the reputation of all it touches. The accused are forced to flee their homes, forced into witch camps or killed. The whisper of accusation strikes fear of ruin and death.
In 2012, a 17 year old girl was forced to leave school and then was banished to a witch camp in Gambaga following an accusation The girl was intelligent excelling in her tests and examinations, but she was accused of "Stealing other students’ brains" with witchcraft and spells. It took the intervention of the Ghanaian Deputy Minister for Women and Children Affairs for the girl to be released from the witch camp and returned to her family.
The future of another teenage girl, Roda, in Nalerigu, in the Northern Region of Ghana is hanging in the balance at this writing. She is accused of bewitching the school prefect and preventing him from taking this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). She is in junior high school and was to graduate in the coming year.
Last December the school prefect, a senior, punished Roda and out of anger she told the boy that he would not write this year’s BECE. Seven months later, a few weeks before the examination, the school prefect took ill. He could not see properly and could not sit for the BECE. The school prefect was rushed to a nearby hospital, the Baptist Medical Centre, where he received some treatment.
Roda was branded a witch. She was accused of being responsible for the illness, of making the boy blind through witchcraft. The matter was reported to the headmaster of the school who urged Roda to ‘forgive’ the school prefect and to undo whatever witchcraft she used on him. But Roda was crying and repeatedly said that she did not know anything about the sickness; that she never did anything to the prefect apart from the threat she issued. But nobody believed her.
The matter was taken to the chief of Nalerigu where the school was located but the chief referred the matter to the chief of Gambaga, known as the Gambarana. The Gambarana is not only the traditional political head of Gambaga but also the spiritual head. He performs rituals to confirm or cleanse accused persons of witchcraft. He is the custodian of the Gambaga ‘witch’ camp.
According to Roda, after listening to their stories the Gambarana decided, Roda may be a witch and she may have used witchcraft. But instead of performing a ritual to confirm if Roda was actually a witch. He had her returned to the chief of Nalerigu to resolve the matter.
The community was now sure that Roda was a witch, and that she made the school prefect blind. Many people suspected that she got the ‘witchcraft’ she used on the school prefect from her father. But her father denied knowing anything about the sickness or giving any ‘juju’ to his daughter.
I visited the prefect at the hospital and noticed that he was not blind as had been rumored but was not seeing properly either. He could see and identify human beings but could not properly see or read words and sentences typed or written on a book or paper. According medical officials at the hospital, the school prefect had a heart problem; the boy's heart was failing. And due to the heart condition, the body organs including the eyes were not functioning properly. They said there was nothing wrong with the eyes. If the heart condition were rectified, the vision would be restored.
This medical center has limited facilities to diagnose and treat heart related problems so there are plans to refer him to hospitals with better equipment and specialists in Kumasi or Accra for a second opinion. The family of the boy is poor and needs financial assistance to carry out further medical examination.
Meanwhile Roda has dropped out of school. She is currently staying with her parents in the village. They are worried that she might be harmed due to the witchcraft accusation. It took a lot of negotiation for the parents and the elders in the community to allow me to see and interview her. I was questioned about my mission and cleared by chiefs in two different communities before I was able to meet with her. Finally I was allowed to visit Roda in her village.
Roda said she stopped attending school because she could no longer move and interact freely in the community. In the school and on the streets, people jeered at her calling her a witch. And in the school, students made caricatures of her. Some were afraid of coming close to her. Others attributed any slight scratch or bruise on their body to her ‘witch chopping’ scheme. She said she felt miserable and unsafe because the family and friends of the school prefect were angry with her. They believed she made him ‘blind’ and prevented him from taking the BECE. She and her parents have moved to another village where she is currently staying. But the witchcraft allegation has followed her.
Roda’s parents said following the accusation, they decided to withdraw her from the school so that she could marry, a plan I vehemently opposed. But they worried that it would be difficult to find her another school within the area because of the stigma of witchcraft accusation. Only after persistent persuasion did the parents pledge to send her to the regional capital, Tamale, so that she could continue her education there. I had pressured them into making this promise. In the future I will have to monitor the situation to see if they have fulfilled this pledge.
If efforts are not made to support her, the girl will lose her education to an accusation of witchcraft. She is one of many.
Leo Igwe is a skeptical activist in Nigeria and a former representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He is partnering with the JREF to respond in a more organized and grassroots way to the growing superstitious beliefs about witchcraft throughout the continent of Africa.
Child witch hunts in contemporary Ghana. Adnkrah M1
Abstract
Child Abuse Negl. 2011 Sep;35(9):741-52. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.05.011. Epub 2011 Sep 22.
Author information
Child witch hunts in contemporary Ghana.
Adinkrah M1.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The persecution of children as witches has received widespread reportage in the international mass media. In recent years, hundreds of children have been killed, maimed and abandoned across Africa based on individual and village-level accusations of witchcraft. Despite the media focus, to date, very little systematic study has investigated the phenomenon. In this case study, the persecution of child witches in Ghana is studied to explore the nature and patterns of witch hunts against children in the West African nation.
METHODS:
There are no reliable national data on child abuse related to witchcraft accusations in Ghana. For this study, 13 cases of child witch hunts appearing in the local media during 1994-2009 were analyzed. Case summaries were constructed for each incident to help identify the socio-demographic characteristics of assailants and victims, victim-offender relationships, the methods of attacks, the spatial characteristics, as well as the motivations for the attacks.
RESULTS:
Children branded as witches ranged in age from 1-month-old to 17-years-old, were primarily from poor backgrounds, and lived in rural areas of the country. Accusations of witchcraft and witch assaults were lodged by close family members often through the encouragement of, or in concert with Christian clergymen and fetish priests. Accused witches were physically brutalized, tortured, neglected, and in two cases, murdered. For school-aged children, imputations of witchcraft contributed to stigmatization in both the community and at school, resulting in dropping out. The most frequently expressed reason for persecution of the child was suspicion that the child had used witchcraft to cause the death or illness of family relations or someone in the community. Another reason was suspicion that the child was responsible for the business failure or financial difficulties of a perceived victim.
CONCLUSIONS:
The results of this research are consistent with findings in the witchcraft literature suggesting that seemingly inexplicable illnesses, untimely deaths, and financial hardships tend to be the major causal forces generating witch hunts. Additional research is necessary to further shed light on child witch hunts in Ghana and other countries.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS:
To reduce the incidence of such abuse, there is a need for increased advocacy and protections for children in the society. The government must also increase the penalties for child abuse. This will serve as a deterrent to potential offenders. Additionally, through public service campaigns, educating citizens about the causes and trajectories of diseases, will lead to a significant diminution of witchcraft accusations and the associated violence.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Child Abuse Negl. 2011 Sep;35(9):741-52. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.05.011. Epub 2011 Sep 22.
Author information
Child witch hunts in contemporary Ghana.
Adinkrah M1.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The persecution of children as witches has received widespread reportage in the international mass media. In recent years, hundreds of children have been killed, maimed and abandoned across Africa based on individual and village-level accusations of witchcraft. Despite the media focus, to date, very little systematic study has investigated the phenomenon. In this case study, the persecution of child witches in Ghana is studied to explore the nature and patterns of witch hunts against children in the West African nation.
METHODS:
There are no reliable national data on child abuse related to witchcraft accusations in Ghana. For this study, 13 cases of child witch hunts appearing in the local media during 1994-2009 were analyzed. Case summaries were constructed for each incident to help identify the socio-demographic characteristics of assailants and victims, victim-offender relationships, the methods of attacks, the spatial characteristics, as well as the motivations for the attacks.
RESULTS:
Children branded as witches ranged in age from 1-month-old to 17-years-old, were primarily from poor backgrounds, and lived in rural areas of the country. Accusations of witchcraft and witch assaults were lodged by close family members often through the encouragement of, or in concert with Christian clergymen and fetish priests. Accused witches were physically brutalized, tortured, neglected, and in two cases, murdered. For school-aged children, imputations of witchcraft contributed to stigmatization in both the community and at school, resulting in dropping out. The most frequently expressed reason for persecution of the child was suspicion that the child had used witchcraft to cause the death or illness of family relations or someone in the community. Another reason was suspicion that the child was responsible for the business failure or financial difficulties of a perceived victim.
CONCLUSIONS:
The results of this research are consistent with findings in the witchcraft literature suggesting that seemingly inexplicable illnesses, untimely deaths, and financial hardships tend to be the major causal forces generating witch hunts. Additional research is necessary to further shed light on child witch hunts in Ghana and other countries.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS:
To reduce the incidence of such abuse, there is a need for increased advocacy and protections for children in the society. The government must also increase the penalties for child abuse. This will serve as a deterrent to potential offenders. Additionally, through public service campaigns, educating citizens about the causes and trajectories of diseases, will lead to a significant diminution of witchcraft accusations and the associated violence.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Self-styled pastor brands minors as witches, abuses them
Self-styled pastor brands minors as witches, abuses them Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | NSA Date: 11-08-2015 Time: 07:08:42:am
Some teenage girls at Bomase, a village in the Upper Manya Krobo district of the Eastern Region have been forced to drop out of school after they were branded witches by a self-styled pastor.
The yet-to-be-identified pastor has blamed the death of some of the residents in the community on the minors. The pastor who is believed to be in his twenties sends these girls - mostly between the ages of 12 and 14 - to a hill top to pray and deliver them from their witchcraft, physically abusing them in the process. During this process he lashes them, leaving marks on their bodies.
Joy News’ Beatrice Adu was in the community and reports that parents of these girls believe in the self-styled pastor, and send their daughters to the hill top for the ‘evil spirit’ they have to be exorcized. A worried member of the community Mary Agbetor told Beatrice the development is a clear abuse of the girls' rights. “I am worried, I was informed that a young pastor in the village was accusing the girls of being witches, killing people and the hitherto peaceful community has been divided into factions of witches and wizards.
“This is affecting the girls in school. How can a pastor accuse girls of being witches and bring them into a bush to exorcise them”, she queried. Mary says the girls are often forced to confess that they are witches. One of the girls, Dede was badly beaten by the pastor last week when she refused to say she was a witch.
Marks left at Dede's back after she was lashed by the pastor when she refused to confess that she was a witch. Dede said she refused to say she was a witch because she is not and although she told her parent about it, they did nothing. One of the residents, Emmanuel Nartey Agbotey, supports the activities of the pastor. He told Beatrice one of the girls killed his wife just after she gave birth to their child. The pastor, upon seeing the TV crew run into the bush. Some women who were at the church when Beatrice and her crew visited the community also refused to speak about the issue.
Source: myjoyonline- http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/August-11th/self-styled-pastor-abuses-teenage-girls-brands-them-witches.
Some teenage girls at Bomase, a village in the Upper Manya Krobo district of the Eastern Region have been forced to drop out of school after they were branded witches by a self-styled pastor.
The yet-to-be-identified pastor has blamed the death of some of the residents in the community on the minors. The pastor who is believed to be in his twenties sends these girls - mostly between the ages of 12 and 14 - to a hill top to pray and deliver them from their witchcraft, physically abusing them in the process. During this process he lashes them, leaving marks on their bodies.
Joy News’ Beatrice Adu was in the community and reports that parents of these girls believe in the self-styled pastor, and send their daughters to the hill top for the ‘evil spirit’ they have to be exorcized. A worried member of the community Mary Agbetor told Beatrice the development is a clear abuse of the girls' rights. “I am worried, I was informed that a young pastor in the village was accusing the girls of being witches, killing people and the hitherto peaceful community has been divided into factions of witches and wizards.
“This is affecting the girls in school. How can a pastor accuse girls of being witches and bring them into a bush to exorcise them”, she queried. Mary says the girls are often forced to confess that they are witches. One of the girls, Dede was badly beaten by the pastor last week when she refused to say she was a witch.
Marks left at Dede's back after she was lashed by the pastor when she refused to confess that she was a witch. Dede said she refused to say she was a witch because she is not and although she told her parent about it, they did nothing. One of the residents, Emmanuel Nartey Agbotey, supports the activities of the pastor. He told Beatrice one of the girls killed his wife just after she gave birth to their child. The pastor, upon seeing the TV crew run into the bush. Some women who were at the church when Beatrice and her crew visited the community also refused to speak about the issue.
Source: myjoyonline- http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2015/August-11th/self-styled-pastor-abuses-teenage-girls-brands-them-witches.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Farmer Grabbed For Defiling 13-Year-Old Girl
January 17, 2013
Akwesi Appiah, 23, was on Wednesday remanded in police custody by a Cape Coast Circuit Court for defiling a thirteen year-old girl.
He pleaded not guilty and would be re-arraigned on Tuesday January 22.
Police Inspector Christiana Sampong told the court presided over by Mrs Florence Kai Otu that on the morning of Saturday December 1, the complainant, Mr Matthew Koomson also a farmer and a drinking bar operator at Assin Betwease, traveled with his wife to a funeral leaving the victim and her siblings at home.
She said at about 7:00 pm Appiah who lives in the same neighborhood with Mr Koomson, went to purchase some local gin and noticed that Mr Koomson and his wife had not returned from their trip.
Inspector Sampong said Appiah then took advantage of the situation to lure the victim into his house and had sexual intercourse with her.
She said when the couple returned home around 21:00 hours they had a hint that Appiah had taken the victim to his house and Mr Koomson rushed to Appiah’s room and found his daughter half naked and took her home.
When questioned at home the girl disclosed to her father the ordeal she went through in the hands of Appiah and the case was reported to the police.
Source: GNA
Akwesi Appiah, 23, was on Wednesday remanded in police custody by a Cape Coast Circuit Court for defiling a thirteen year-old girl.
He pleaded not guilty and would be re-arraigned on Tuesday January 22.
Police Inspector Christiana Sampong told the court presided over by Mrs Florence Kai Otu that on the morning of Saturday December 1, the complainant, Mr Matthew Koomson also a farmer and a drinking bar operator at Assin Betwease, traveled with his wife to a funeral leaving the victim and her siblings at home.
She said at about 7:00 pm Appiah who lives in the same neighborhood with Mr Koomson, went to purchase some local gin and noticed that Mr Koomson and his wife had not returned from their trip.
Inspector Sampong said Appiah then took advantage of the situation to lure the victim into his house and had sexual intercourse with her.
She said when the couple returned home around 21:00 hours they had a hint that Appiah had taken the victim to his house and Mr Koomson rushed to Appiah’s room and found his daughter half naked and took her home.
When questioned at home the girl disclosed to her father the ordeal she went through in the hands of Appiah and the case was reported to the police.
Source: GNA
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