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February 27, 2023
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
This is an appeal against the Judgment of the Circuit Court, Jasikan dated 16 February
2022 and presided over by His Honour Alfred Kwabena Asiedu Esq.
On the 16 February 2022, the Appellant was arraigned before the Court, on one count of
defilement contrary to Section 101(2) of the Criminal and other Offences Act 1960, (Act
When the charge was read and explained to the Appellant, he pleaded guilty simpliciter.
He was convicted on his own plea and sentenced to 7 years IHL.
It is against this conviction and sentence that the Appellant with leave granted by this
Court on 24 June 2022 for extension of time within which to appeal, has filed this appeal.
The grounds of appeal found in the Notice of Appeal dated 24 June 2022 and filed on the
same are as follows:-
1. The learned trial court judge erred by not taking evidence regarding the age of the
victim (sic).
2. The conviction flowing from the charge is wrong in law because the Appellant is (sic)
juvenile at the time of the trial.
3. The sentence is wrong in law because the Juvenile cannot be sent to serve in adult
prison.
The facts as presented by the prosecution are that the complainant is a secretary at KASEC
whiles the victim RA aged 14 years , is a form 2 student at a secondary school in Kadjebi.
The appellant aged 18 years is unemployed. On 18/01/2022, while the victim was going
home after school, with a witness in this case, the appellant and two others called them
into a room and one of the accused persons pushed her down and with the help of the
two accused persons they covered her mouth, removed her dress, and had sexual
intercourse with her one after the other. The witness managed to escape. The accused
persons went into hiding after committing the crime. A report was made to the Police
and medical form was issued to the complainant and she sent the victim to hospital. The
victim was treated, and the medical form endorsed and returned to Police. The appellant
was later arrested from his hideout and charge with the offence.
Counsel for appellant in his submission contended that in their earlier applications to this
Court they had exhibited the Birth Certificate of the appellant which clearly show his date
of birth as 4th February 2005 and that he was under 18 years at the time he was arraigned
before the Circuit Court on the charge of defilement.
It is important that the trajectory of events in this appeal are put in its proper perspective.
The appellant was convict
AI Generated Summary
Justice AYITEY ARMAH-TETTEH of the High Court heard an appeal by EPHRAIM KOFI ASIEDU from the Circuit Court, Jasikan, presided over by His Honour Alfred Kwabena Asiedu. ASIEDU had pleaded guilty to defilement under section 101(2) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act, based on events in Kadjebi involving a 14-year-old student, Rosemary Ansah (RA), and was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. On appeal, counsel argued the trial judge erred by not taking evidence of the appellant’s age, that he was a juvenile at trial and could not be sent to an adult prison, and sought reliance on a birth certificate exhibited in a withdrawn bail application. The High Court held the plea of guilty was a judicial confession, the Circuit Court could infer he was at least eighteen, the appellant was neither a juvenile nor a “young offender” under the Juvenile Justice Act because defilement has no option of fine, the sentence was the statutory minimum, and fresh evidence could not be introduced without leave. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction and sentence affirmed.