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June 27, 2023
CIRCUIT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
JUDGMENT
FACTS:
The accused person was arraigned before this court on 27th November, 2020 on a
charge of defilement contrary to Section 101(2) of Act 29.
The brief facts presented by the prosecution are that the complainant, Diana
Sewornu, is a teacher and the mother of the 12-year-old alleged victim,
Nathaniella Mawuena Sewornu whilst the accused person, Johnny Arthur, aged
30, is a teacher and they all live at Community 10, Tema. The prosecution alleges
that the alleged victim is a Junior High School Form 1 pupil at Oakwood
Community School located at Community 10, Tema where the accused person
teaches English Language. It is the case of the prosecution that in March 2020, the
accused person proposed love to the alleged victim which she accepted and they2
exchanged phone numbers. On 23rd March, 2020, the alleged victim was at home
when the accused person called her on phone to come to the school. The
prosecution alleges that the victim was reluctant but the accused person
persisted until she obliged. It is further alleged that when she got to the school,
the accused person lured her into his room and forcibly had sexual intercourse
with her without her consent. Thereafter, the accused person then asked her to
go home and warned her not to disclose the incident to anyone and continued to
be in close contact with her.
Furthermore, on 19th April, 2020, the accused person called the alleged victim
again on phone to come to the school where he forcibly had sexual intercourse
with her. In October 2020, the victim attended a training on Adolescent
Reproductive Health with Compassion International and during the program,
she confided in a friend at the program, who in turn informed one Vincent Adjei,
the Coordinator of the program. The coordinator then took the alleged victim to
her mother and disclosed the matter to her. A formal complaint was lodged at
the Tema Regional Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVSSU),
where a police medical form was issued to the complainant to send victim to the
hospital for examination and treatment. Based on the formal complaint, the
accused person was arrested and after investigations charged with the offence
and put before this honorable court.
THE PLEA
The accused person who was represented by Counsel pleaded not guilty to the
charge after it had been read and explained to him in the English language.3
Thereafter, the prosecution assumed the onerous burden to prove the guilt of the
AI Generated Summary
Johnny Arthur, a 30-year-old English teacher at Oakwood Community School in Community 10, Tema, was tried in the Circuit Court for defilement under section 101(2) of Act 29, alleged to have occurred on March 23 and April 19, 2020 against Nathaniella Mawuena Sewornu, aged 12, daughter of teacher Diana Sewornu. The prosecution relied chiefly on PW2’s account, PW1’s disclosure to DOVVSU after a Compassion International program, and a medical report noting multiple hymenal tears. The court emphasized the constitutional presumption of innocence and the prosecution’s burden to prove the defilement elements: the victim’s age, carnal knowledge, and identity of the perpetrator. Although age was proved, the medical officer was not called, reducing the report’s probative value, and there was no scientific evidence linking Arthur to the acts. Uncertified call records and uncalled witnesses further weakened the case. Arthur consistently raised and corroborated an alibi placing him at Amanfrom, Dodowa. The court found reasonable doubt and acquitted and discharged him.