The Appellant herein was charged with the offence of defilement of female under sixteen (16) years of age contrary to Section 101 (2) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 Act 29 and was arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court on the 2nd July 2020 wherein he pleaded not guilty to the charge after same was read and explained to him in the Twi language.
After a full trial, the accused was on the 30th of October 2020 found guilty, convicted and sentenced to ten (10) years IHL.
It is against this judgment that the appellant filed the instant appeal on the 22nd May 2023 pursuant to leave granted by the High Court on the 10th of May 2023. GROUNDS OF APPEAL The grounds of appeal filed are that: 1. The conviction was an error in law 2. The sentence was too harsh.
FACTS OF THE CASE According to the prosecution, the complainant Adwoa Tweneboah age 47 years is a trader and Iives at Kasoa in the Central region and is the mother of the victim Princess Naa Kwarley Quartey age 11 years.
The prosecution states that the accused person Sadiq Salifu Karim age 30 years is a computer repairer and lives at Agbogbloshie.
The case of the prosecution is that the complainant normally comes to Agbogbloshie with the victim to trade and the victim usually spends time at the spot of one Abena which is closer to the complainant’s work place.
Their case continued that in the month of May 2020, victim went to the spot and whiles there, the accused person who has been running errands for the spot owner came around and introduced himself to the victim, he proposed love to the victim and directed her to come to his house.
The victim followed the direction and went to accused person's house.
On reaching there, accused person made victim to sit on a student mattress lying on the floor, he then locked the door and removed his shorts and shirt.
He raised victim's dress upwards, removed her panties and forcefully inserted his penis into victim's vagina and had sexual intercourse with her for the first time.
Accused person warned victim not to disclose the ordeal to anybody, so victim kept the ordeal to herself.
On 15th June 2020, the prosecution stated that the victim went to sit at the spot as usual and the accused person came around to chat with her.
In the process, accused person gave his phone and an amount of GH¢3. 00 to victim and told victim to used it as an excuse to be able to seek permission from the spot owner to meet him.
Victim obliged and went to accused person's house.
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