The Cape Coast High Court has sentenced a 63-year-old farmer, Joseph Begyina, a.k.a Yaw Esoun, to 10 years imprisonment for defiling a 7-year-old class three pupil at Assin Nyame-Bekyire in the Central Region.
Joseph was charged with defilement contrary to section 101 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act 26 of 1960.
According to the prosecution counsel, Joseph defiled the minor on four different occasions, of which two occurred in the victim’s father’s bedroom and two on a cocoa farm.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Gilbert Abagna Ayongo, disclosed to the court that the victim’s father, who is the complainant in the case, is a farmer and also sells local gin at Breku Nyamebekyere, while the accused lives in a different village which is about 500 meters away from the complainant’s house.
On April 29, 2023, at about 3 pm, the accused bought local gin from the complainant, who is the child’s father.
After being served, the father asked her daughter to take care of the drinks while he worked on his farm.
After working for about five minutes, the father returned home to pick up something but met the daughter’s absence behind the drinks.
Upon hearing her name being called by her father, the victim came out of the room, and as she was being questioned about what she was doing in the room, the accused was also seen coming out of the room, zipping up his shorts.
The father became suspicious and raised his daughter’s dress; to his shock, she was without a pantie.
The victim, when queried, confirmed the accused had sexual intercourse with her and further confessed that it was not the first time, as it usually happened when the father was away.
On hearing this, the father rushed to the police station to lodge a complaint leading to the arrest of the accused person.
In his caution statement, the accused admitted having had sexual intercourse with the victim once on a cocoa farm, and the second attempt was when the father chanced on them.
A medical form was thus issued to confirm the situation, and after an in-depth investigation, the accused person was charged with the offence and convicted.
