EDMUND ADDO v. THE REPUBLIC
2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- G. SUURBAAREH, J.A (PRESIDING)
- MERLEY A. WOOD (MRS), J.A
- R. ADJEI FRIMPONG, J.A
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Technology Law
2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Ghana Court of Appeal, per Merley A. Wood, J.A., decided an interlocutory appeal arising from a High Court (Criminal Division) ruling that refused to strike out three child pornography counts after the Cyber Security Act 2020 repealed Section 136 of the Electronic Transactions Act. The case involves an appellant accused of defilement and child pornography offenses stemming from repeated sexual activities with a fourteen-year-old, recorded and later disseminated online. The High Court held proceedings could continue, and on appeal the central question was whether a criminal prosecution may proceed when the offence-creating provision has been repealed. Relying on Section 34 of the Interpretation Act 2009, the Court of Appeal held that offences committed prior to repeal are saved and prosecutions may continue under the repealed law, avoiding retroactive application of the new Act. The appeal was dismissed.
M. WOOD (MRS), JA
This is an interlocutory appeal against the Ruling of the High Court, Criminal Division for having on 19th March 2021 rejected the Appellant’s application to strike out Counts 2, 3 and 4 off the charge sheet.
The facts culminating in this appeal are as follows:
The victim then a Senior High School student, telephoned her mother to inform her that she had seen her nude pictures on social media. Her mother, the complainant, verified this information on Facebook which led her to a website where indeed she found pictures of her daughter in various anal and oral sex activities including pictures that showed the genitals of the victim. A complaint was lodged at the Police Station and subsequent investigations indicated that the Appellant met the victim at a party when she was fourteen years old. Some months later, the Appellant invited the victim to watch a film at the West Hills Mall, Accra, on 14th February 2015 after which he proposed love to her. In the first week of March 2015, after the Appellant had taken the victim to a Guest House and demanded to have sex with her and having informed him that she had never had sex, he taught her how to perform oral sex after which he demanded to have anal sex with her but she refused. Thereafter, the Appellant sent pornographic videos depicting anal sex to her. Two weeks later, the Appellant invited the victim to his house where he had anal and oral sex with her in his music studio. He took her on other occasions to a Guest House and Hostel where he had both anal and oral sex with her. All the sexual activities were recorded or photographed by the Appellant under the pretext that they were meant for memories of their time together even though she protested.
The Appellant on different occasions instructed the victim to photograph and video record herself showing her fondling her genitals which she did. After a while, the victim refused to visit the Appellant and to send her nude pictures to him when he demanded them. In January 2016, the Appellant began to threaten her via whatsapp messages that if she did not continue with the sending of her nude pictures to him, he would publish her nude photographs on social media. On 25th May 2016, she saw her photographs depicting sexual activities with the Appellant on social media with her face showing clearly while the Appellant’s face was hidden. By 28th May 2016, the pictures had attracted 360,000 views.
Upon these facts, the Appellant was arraigned befor