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June 27, 2023
CIRCUIT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
FACTS:
The accused person was arraigned before this court on 17th June, 2022 on a
charge of defilement contrary to section 101 of the Criminal Offences Act,
1960(Act 29).
The brief facts presented by the prosecution are that the complainant Comfort
Acquah, aged 59 is a trader and lives at a place known as BBC within
Community 2, Tema with the alleged victim Sandra Owusu aged 14 years
whereas the accused person, aged 58 years is a security man with DJH
International Company and lives within the premises of the company.
According to the prosecution, the alleged victim normally hawks sachet water
at the accused person’s place of work and she became friends with the2
accused person six (6) months prior to the alleged incident. The prosecution
claims that anytime the alleged victim goes hawking at the company where
the accused person works, he lures her with money and has sexual
intercourse with her in the wooden kiosk. According to the prosecution, from
January 2020 till date, the accused person has had sexual intercourse with the
alleged victim on numerous occasions.
The prosecution further alleges that on 10th June, 2022, in the evening, the
alleged victim complained of cold and headache and the complainant
suspecting pregnancy, conducted a home pregnancy test on her which
confirmed that she was pregnant. When the complainant confronted the
alleged victim over the results of the pregnancy test, she mentioned the
accused person’s name as the one responsible for the pregnancy. A complaint
was lodged at the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, (DOVVSU)
Community 2, Tema where police medical form was issued for the
complainant to send the victim to the Hospital for medical examination.
According to the prosecution, a medical officer at the Tema General Hospital,
Dr. Alhassan Hanifa confirmed that the hymen was broken with five months
gestation and a scan report also indicated a single viable intrauterine
gestation at 19 weeks, 2 days with cardiac and fetal well-being being excellent.
Based on the foregoing, the accused person was arrested and charged with
the offence and arraigned before the court. The prosecution states that during
investigations, the accused person alleged that he is impotent and could
therefore not have had sexual intercourse with the alleged victim resulting in
pregnancy. Therefore, the prosecution prays for medical examination to be3
conducted on the accused person to determine whether he is incapabl
AI Generated Summary
In the Circuit Court at Tema, presided over by Her Honour Agnes Opoku-Barnieh, the prosecution alleged that a 58-year-old security man employed by DJH International Company defiled 14-year-old hawker Sandra Owusu, niece of complainant Comfort Acquah, and impregnated her after multiple sexual encounters in a wooden kiosk. A home test and an initial examination by Dr. Alhassan Hanifa at Tema General Hospital suggested pregnancy and a broken hymen. The accused denied intercourse, asserting impotence. The Ghana Police Hospital reported it lacked a nocturnal tumescence monitor and recommended a prenatal non-invasive paternity test, which was not performed; a planned DNA test did not occur following a stillbirth. Applying the constitutional burden of proof and statutory definitions under Act 29, and cautioning against uncorroborated testimony in sexual offences, the court found evidentiary gaps linking the accused to pregnancy and acquitted him for want of proof beyond reasonable doubt.