Wood Engineer Gets 10 Years For Defiling Niece

A 54-year-old wood engineer who defiled his 11-year-old niece was on Tuesday sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by an Accra circuit court. Kotey Nee Quaye, who pleaded not guilty to defilement was, however, found guilty by the court, presided over by Mr Georgina Mensah-Datsa after a full trial. The court in its judgment rejected Quaye's defence that he was accused wrongly by the complainant saying, "he could not adduce evidence to that effect". When the court asked Kotey whether he had anything to say, he said, "I did not defile her." The court therefore directed the convict to file an appeal in respect of its decision. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr George Abavelim told the court that the victim stays at La in Accra with her mother who is the complainant. He said at about 2230 hours on January 16, this year, the complainant observed the absence of the victim from her room and started asking tenants of her whereabouts. The prosecution said Quaye on hearing of the request of the complainant asked her to come for her daughter from his room. The prosecutor said the complainant became suspicious and examined the body of the victim and surprisingly found “whitish fluid running down the victim's thighs”. The complainant then invited her mother to be a witness to what she had seen. When Quaye was confronted he denied defiling the victim. Consequently, the prosecution said, a report was made to the police and a medical report was issued to her for medical examination. When the victim was quizzed, she disclosed that Quaye had defiled her three times but she failed to report him because he had threatened to harm her if she disclosed her ordeal to anyone.