40-year-old man handed 20 years for defilement

A 40-year-old air conditioner installer, Joshua Arhin, has been handed 20 years imprisonment in hard labour by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for defiling a 13-year-old girl at Booboobo in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality.

He pleaded guilty and begged the court for forgiveness, promising not to repeat such a shameful act.

Superintendent Juliana Essel-Dadzie, who led the prosecution told the court presided over by Mrs Hathia Ama Manu, that the complainant is a mechanic and father of the victim, a Junior High School student.

She said both the complainant and the convict resided at Booboobo and that on May 25, 2024, around 8:00 pm, the victim visited her sister at her drinking spot and was later asked to go home by herself as it was getting late.

She said after some minutes, the victim’s sister, who is a witness in this case, called their mother on the phone to inquire if the victim had gotten home, but the answer was negative.

The prosecution said the complainant, the victim’s mother and sister initiated a search for the victim and at about 9:30 pm the same day, they saw her coming from the back of an uncompleted school building at Booboobo, interrogated her but she kept quiet and left to the house.

On June 1, 2024, the victim, who was experiencing severe abdominal pain, confessed to the complainant that on May 25 while she was on her way home, Arhin was then at the back of an uncompleted school building, called her and after engaging her for some time he lured her into his bedroom and assaulted her sexually after which he gave her a two-tablet drug and ordered her to swallow it.

The complainant reported the case to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Tarkwa, where a police medical report form was issued to the complainant to send the victim to the hospital for treatment and endorsement.

She said the complainant returned the form duly endorsed by a medical officer who attended to the victim at the Apinto Government Hospital.

The court heard that Arhin went into hiding after committing the offence, but on July 21, 2024, he was picked up at the complainant’s house when he paid a visit with some elders to render an apology.