Police Officer jailed 12 years for defiling 14-year-old girl

A Ho Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Felix Datsomor, has sentenced Sergeant Emmanuel Dua for defiling a 14-year-old girl at Ave-Xevi in the Akatsi North District of the Volta Region.

The incident that occurred in September 2021 found the 47-year-old Sergeant Dua, who was on duty at a Police barrier at Ave-Xevi, guilty after he forcefully lured the young victim into a room and defiled her.

Ms Enyonam Letsa, an Assistant State Attorney, prosecuting, told the court that at about 1530 hours on the said date, the victim went to fetch rain water from a basin near the newly constructed Police post, which was not far from their house.

She said the convict took advantage of the vulnerability of the victim and lured her into the room and forcefully defiled her.

She said after several attempts to know the whereabouts of victim, she finally emerged from a nearby cassava farm around 1745 hours.

The victim, after narrating her ordeal to her aunty, formally lodged a complaint at the Ave-Dakpa Police station, where they were given a medical form to visit the hospital for proper examination and treatment.

Sergeant Dua was later arrested but was granted a Police inquiry bail in a sum of Gh₵50,000 with two sureties.

It was also revealed that the victim, upon interrogation, led a police investigative team to the crime scene on October 12, where she demonstrated how the accused officer forcibly defiled her on the bare floor at Ave-Xevi.

Duah, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him during a court appearance that commenced in February 2023.

The Ho Circuit Court during a sitting on Tuesday, March 26, after a full trial, found the convict guilty of the charges leveled against him and consequently convicted him to a 12-year jail term in hard labour.