Convicted actress and social media personality, Rosemond Alade Brown, aka Akuapem Poloo, was yesterday granted a GH¢80,000 bail pending the determination of an appeal against her 90 days jail conviction.
The actress was last Friday sentenced to 90 days’ imprisonment in hard labour by an Accra Circuit Court for publishing a nude picture of herself taken with her seven-year-old son who was in his underwear.
The sentencing has generated heated debate with those against the conviction signing an online petition to get the President’s attention to intervene.
However, those who opposed her release said she is not the only single mother in jail and cannot use that excuse to escape punishment, which the court said should serve as deterrent to would-be cyber offenders.
Her lawyer had filed an appeal challenging the sentencing, which he considers as harsh given the circumstances of his client who is a single mother.
Her counsel, Andrew Vortia, also filed an application for bail pending the determination of the appeal.
Moving the motion for bail yesterday, the lawyer cited decided cases and told the court that there were special circumstances that necessitate a grant of bail pending the appeal.
He told the court that Akuapem Poloo would appear in court for the appeal when granted bail, adding that the record of proceedings from the circuit court would show that appellant had never failed to attend court and never violated her bail conditions.
Selasie Kuwornu, an Assistant State Attorney who represented the Attorney General’s Department, did not oppose the application due to the welfare of the victim (son) in spite of his mother’s actions.
The court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, granted the application and admitted Akuapem Poloo to a bail of GH¢80,000 with two sureties to be justified.
She was ordered to deposit her passport with the court’s registry and can only travel with the express permission of the court.
Again, she is to report to the case investigator every two weeks until the final determination of the appeal.
Jail Term
Akuapem Poloo was charged with three counts of publication of obscene materials, engaging in domestic violence, a conduct that in any way undermines another person’s privacy or integrity and engaging in domestic violence namely conduct that in any way detracts or is likely to detract from another person’s dignity and worth as a human being.
She was dragged to court after she had displayed her naked picture with her son on social media on June 30, 2020 to celebrate the boy’s birthday.
She initially pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with four sureties, two of who must be justified.
She was convicted after she changed her plea from not guilty at the commencement of the case, to guilty, midway into the trial.
The trial court, presided over by Her Honour Christiana Cann, in sentencing her, took into consideration the aggravating facts, intrinsic seriousness of the offence, gravity, prevalence and premeditation with which she committed the offence, as pushed by the prosecution.
The court also took into consideration the mitigating factors which included pleading guilty simplicita, being a single parent, and the convict’s show of remorse.
The presiding judge, however, went on to express concern about the sudden increase in the abuse of children in the country.
The court in giving its reasons to buttress the sentence, held the view that the action of the accused did not only infringe on the rights of the child, but morally corrupted those who saw the post.
By Gibril Abdul Razak