A 20-year-old trainee mason has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment with hard labour by the Tema Circuit Court ‘A’ for defiling his niece.
Atsu Sanasu, who resides in the same house with the eight-year-old girl at Official Town, a suburb of Ashaiman, pleaded guilty when he appeared before the court, presided over by Mrs. Mariama Samma.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Samuel Dadzie, told the court that on June 26, 2016, parents of girl went to church and left a provision store in their house in the care of the victim.
The convict at about 12:00pm moved to the store under the pretext of buying ice cream and when the victim went to the kitchen to bring the ice cream from the fridge, he followed her there. He removed the underwear of the victim, held her firmly to the fridge and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her, he indicated.
Brother of the victim, who had closed from church, heard the victim crying and asked the trainee to stop but he refused.
Parents of the victim saw the distressed boy upon their return and asked him questions.
The boy revealed that he saw the mason raping the little girl.
When the victim was subsequently questioned by her parents, she narrated her ordeal to them.
The father of the victim lodged formal complaint with the Ashaiman Division of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support (DOVVSU) which issued the medical form to the girl to attend hospital.
The medical report showed that she had been defiled.
The trainee mason, who was later arrested, admitted the offence in his caution statement.
He was subsequently put before the court after police investigations.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema