The Tamale High Court has sentenced a 48-year-old man, Abdallah Mohammed, to 15 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a 14-year-old girl.
The court, presided over by Justice Charles Kwesi Acheampong, also convicted Mohammed of perjury and handed him an additional six-month jail term after finding that he deliberately gave false testimony under oath during the trial.
The case revolved around the age of the victim, with the prosecution maintaining that she was 14 years old at the time of the offence. Mohammed, however, insisted that the girl was 18 and claimed he believed she was an adult.
During proceedings, the defence challenged the authenticity of a birth certificate tendered by the prosecution, arguing that a search at the Births and Deaths Registry failed to locate the document in its records.
Despite the challenge, the court relied on testimonies from the victim, her guardian, and evidence from earlier proceedings.
Justice Acheampong ruled that the prosecution had proven beyond reasonable doubt that the complainant was a minor when the offence occurred and subsequently found Mohammed guilty of defilement.
The court further determined that Mohammed knowingly made false statements while under oath during cross-examination, leading to his conviction for perjury.
However, he was acquitted on a separate charge of causing abortion after the court found insufficient evidence to prove that he had induced the victim to terminate a pregnancy.