The Tarkwa Circuit Court condemned a 19-year-old mason to 15 years in prison with hard labor after he admitted to defiling a seven-year-old kindergarten student.
Alfred Mensah, a native of Awodua in the Western Region, entered a guilty plea to the charge and was found guilty. Her Honor Bernice Mensima Ackon presided over the court.
Prosecutor ASP Joseph Lartey told the court that the complainant in the case is the victim’s mother. He said Mensah lived in the same family house as the child and her family at Awodua.
The offence occurred on Sunday, April 26, 2026, while the victim and her younger sibling were playing in the house. According to the prosecution, Mensah had planned the abuse in advance. He deliberately sent the younger child to buy biscuits at a nearby shop, then gave the victim his mobile phone to play with. The prosecution said he then lured the girl into a room and assaulted her.
A discovery that led to a complaint
The prosecution told the court that the crime came to light by chance. A woman identified as Mary Yeboah, who was in the house at the time, walked into the room and found Mensah with the child. She reported what she had seen to the complainant.
The mother took the victim to the Awodua Police Station and lodged a formal complaint. Police issued a medical report form, which she was told to take to a hospital so that her daughter could be examined and treated.
Medical report confirmed the offence
The complainant took the girl to Apinto Government Hospital, where she received medical attention. The endorsed medical report confirmed that she had been defiled. The form was then returned to the police and formed part of the case against Mensah.
Because Mensah pleaded guilty, the matter did not go to full trial. The court proceeded to sentence him on the strength of his plea and the facts read out by the prosecution.
What the law says
Under Ghana’s Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), defilement refers to sexual activity with a child under 16, and the consent of the child is not a defence. It is treated as a serious felony, and the law provides for a prison term of between seven and 25 years on conviction. The 15-year term imposed on Mensah therefore falls within the range set by the law.
Ghanaian courts have in recent years handed down stiff sentences in defilement cases as authorities try to deter offences against children. Child protection groups continue to urge families to report suspected abuse quickly, noting that many cases involve perpetrators who are known to the victim and sometimes live in the same household or neighbourhood.
A case that began with a quick report
The speed with which the child’s mother acted was an important part of this case. Within the same day, the incident was reported to the police and the child was taken for medical examination. Prompt reporting and medical evidence are often critical in such prosecutions, as they help establish what happened and support the work of investigators and prosecutors.
For the victim, the guilty plea means she was spared the ordeal of having to testify in court, something that child welfare advocates say can add to the trauma suffered by young survivors.
Mensah will now serve his sentence in prison with hard labour.