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May 11, 2023
CIRCUIT COURT
GHANA
CORAM
JUDGMENT
Sexuality is part of human behaviour. Sweet as sexual intercourse may be, the act somehow is
regulated by law. For example, the law frowns upon someone having sexual intercourse with
a child who is below sixteen (16) years old. That prohibited act is known in the law as
defilement. In Ghana, defilement is defined under the Criminal Offences Act, 1960(Act 29), as
amended, as: “For purposes of this Act defilement is the natural or unnatural carnal
knowledge of any child under sixteen years of age”. See section 101(1) of Act 29.2
Subsection 2 of section 101 of Act 29 prescribes the punishment for engaging in this
proscribed act, as:
Whoever naturally or unnaturally carnally knows any child under sixteen years of age, whether
with or without his or her consent commits an offence and shall be liable on summary
conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years and not more than twentyfive years.
Unnatural carnal knowledge is defined under Act 29, inter alia, as sexual intercourse with a
person in an unnatural manner…. See section 104(2) of Act 29. Natural carnal knowledge is
not defined in Act 29, but the definition of unnatural carnal knowledge implies that natural
carnal knowledge is sexual intercourse with a person in a natural manner.
In section 99 of Act 29, it is stated that whenever, upon the trial of any person for an offence
punishable under this Code[Act], it is necessary to prove carnal knowledge or unnatural
carnal knowledge, the carnal knowledge or unnatural carnal knowledge shall be deemed
complete upon proof of the least degree of penetration.
Accused herein was arraigned before this court upon he having been charged under section
101(2) of Act 29.
The following were given as the particulars of the offence:
“ABRAHAM BREGORY; FARMER: For that you on 28th October 2022 at about 1:00pm
at Nkotumso in the Central Circuit and within the jurisdiction of this Court did
unlawfully carnally know one Sarah Amankwaa, Sebe[sic] and Blessing Amankwaa
Fosu, females both aged five(years).”
For the investigative team to hold that an accused is liable for a crime, they should have
conducted cogent investigations to arrive at that conclusion. According to the prosecution, the3
following facts were gathered as the basis for charging Accused[produced with the
grammatical errors and the logical ills]:
“Complainants Emmanuel Sebe and Richard Fosu are brothers-in-law, residents at
Nkotumso and are all farmer
AI Generated Summary
His Honour Yaw Poku Achampong of the Circuit Court tried Abraham Bregory, a 31-year-old farmer from Nkotumso, for the defilement of two five-year-old cousins, Sarah Amankwaa and Blessing Amankwaa Fosu. The prosecution, led by DW/INSPR. Josephine Appiah-Kubi of DOVVSU, alleged Bregory lured the children into his room after sending them to buy sachet water and had sexual intercourse with them in turns. Sarahs medical report from Dunkwa-On-Offin Government Hospital indicated a broken hymen and perineal bruising, while Blessings report was rejected as tainted. Both children testified to penetration; the accused denied the allegations and gave an unsworn dock statement claiming innocence. The court reviewed the statutory definition of defilement, the burdens under the Evidence Act, and the standard of proof. Finding the evidence insufficient regarding Blessing but sufficient regarding Sarah, the court convicted Bregory of defilement of Sarah and sentenced him to seven and a half years, crediting time spent in custody.