In a shocking case that has sent shockwaves through the community, a 20-year-old farmer has been sentenced to ten years in prison for the defilement of a four-year-old nursery one pupil.
The verdict was delivered by Her Lordship, Akosua Antwiwaa Sarpong, at the Duayaw Nkwanta Circuit Court.
The judge, while pronouncing the sentence, emphasized the alarming rate at which sexual offenses are escalating in the locality.
The accused, Michael Oppong, a resident of Derma, committed the heinous act on July 27, 2023, near the victim's home.
According to the prosecutor, Detective Chief Inspector Mawuli Owusu-Agbe, the victim had accompanied her elder brother to a nearby refuse dump, where she was later found bleeding from her private parts.
She revealed that the accused had forcibly dragged her into the nearby bushes and sexually assaulted her.
The distraught mother of the victim promptly reported the incident to the police, leading to Oppong's arrest. In his caution statement, the farmer admitted to the crime.
Subsequently, he was charged with defilement under section 101 of the Criminal Offences ACT 29(1960).
During the court proceedings, Michael Oppong pleaded guilty to the charges, and the judge sentenced him to ten years of hard labor.