A Circuit Court in Accra has sentenced a 38-year-old welder to 20 years imprisonment for defiling a five-year-old girl in a car at Spintex, a suburb of Accra.

John Appew is said to have taken the victim to the car under the pretext of teaching her how to drive but ended up having sex with her.

Appew, charged with defilement, pleaded not guilty.

The court, presided over by Mrs Christiana Cann, however, found Appew guilty at the end of trial and convicted him accordingly.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Kofi Atimbire narrated that the complainant was unemployed and mother of the victim.

He said the convict’s workshop was in the same vicinity and the parties in the matter resided at Okpoi Gonno, a suburb of Spintex.

On July 22, this year, at about 1730 hours, prosecution said while the complainant was home, victim reported to her that Appew carried her on his laps in a car parked at his mechanic shop under the pretext of teaching her how to drive.

The victim said Appew rolled her panty to one side and inserted his finger into her vagina.

Chief Inspector Atimbire said Appew held the victim’s hand to his manhood and had sex with her.

The mother reported the case to the Baatsona DOVVSU and a medical report form was issued to her to have the victim examined at the hospital.

Prosecution said investigations revealed that Appew penetrated the five-year-old with his fingers and manhood.