Man Defiles Mentally Challenged Girl

A driver who defiled a 13-year-old mentally challenged girl was on Monday January 25, sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court. Prince Akawe, 40, pleaded guilty and the court sentenced him accordingly on two counts of having canal knowledge of an imbecile and defilement to 10 years' imprisonment on each count to run concurrently. Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datse, the presiding judge, in her ruling advised parents and caregivers to be vigilant on children and strangers in the community who sometimes lured children with confectionery and other gifts with the sole aim of defiling them. Police Inspector Isaac A.A. Ahor, prosecuting, said the complainant, Grace Oblibia, mother of the victim, was unemployed whilst the accused was a driver. He said both of them stayed in the same house at North Kaneshie, an Accra suburb. He said sometime in November 2010, Akawe lured the victim to their toilet in the house and forcibly defiled her. The prosecutor said after the act, the victim became sick and was rushed to the hospital, where a series of tests conducted on her revealed that she was two months pregnant. When the victim was questioned, she mentioned Akawe as the one who impregnated her. On January 1, 2011, a report was made at the Kaneshie Police DOVVSU who issued a medical form to the victim who was medically examined and confirmed to be pregnant. The prosecutor said Akawe was arrested and after investigations charged with the offence.