A 14-year-old class six pupil, who is seven months pregnant, as a result of an alleged defilement by a 22-year-old labourer at Kasoa in the Central Region, has said the suspect asked if she wanted it slowly or forcefully.
she had heard that when a man forces himself on a virgin girl, it hurts, and, so, she told the man to do “whatever he wanted” during the struggle.
Ama (not her real name) recounted that to Moro Awudu on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM that: “He [suspect] sent me and when I came, he told me whether he should force me to do it or I want it slowly, and I told him that I’ve never done it before and I’ve heard that when they do that forcefully, it’s painful, and, so, I told him to do whatever he wanted to do, so I can go home; and he did whatever he wanted and I left to go home in blood.”
According to the victim, the suspect, Foster Akrofi, lives in Nsawam but traveled to reside in Kasoa temporarily due to a construction contract he got there as a labourer for some weeks.
She said the suspect, who was living close to her home, approached her in December 2017 under the guise of being concerned about her welfare.
The victim explained that three days later, she was “passing and he (suspect) called me and told me I am a nice girl and that he likes me. I told him I am a student and cannot have anything to do with a man”.
The young girl said that the suspect then sent her to buy an item for him at a nearby shop but she did not sense danger or any ill motive.
“When I returned, nobody was around, he was alone. He told me he wanted to sleep with me so will I do it or he should force me?”
According to her, she got confused and tried to resist but the well-built suspect overpowered her and carried her into his room despite her cries.
Foster, she said, “Paid no attention to her cries but he went ahead and forcefully had intercourse with me”.
She stated that she was terrified after the ordeal and could not tell her parents about the incident because the suspect threatened to harm her if she did.
A few weeks after, the victim said she became weak, pale and very sick. A friend of her mother’s suspected pregnancy. A test on 15 January 2018 proved positive.
The minor said she had no choice than to narrate the incident to her mother after interrogation.
The victim, who said she wants to be a successful woman to change the fortunes of her family, has now become a huge burden on her poor family. She revealed that she still has interest in going back to school to further her education after she gives birth.
She is, however, concerned about her predicament and health as she has never visited the hospital for ante-natal care because there is no money to even keep her fed.
Mother of the victim, Mary Odoom, a 40-year-old Fante kenkey seller, told Class News’ Joshua Kodjo Mensah and Afi Genevive Kpadone that she confronted the suspect later on.
“The man admitted that she got my daughter pregnant and promised to take care of her and the unborn child. I followed him to Nsawam where he introduced a woman to me as his mother. The woman told me his son is married with two children. This infuriated me and I left in anger without informing the woman about my daughter’s pregnancy,” she narrated.
According to her, the case was reported to the Kasoa police station on 24 January 2018 by the girl’s father but they did not have any money to go to the hospital for examination and a medical report.
The victim’s mother added that the suspect “heard about the report we made to the police from individuals in the community and he absconded”.
“My daughter called him but he pretended he could not hear her clearly on the phone and cut the call. Since February, he has not sent the pregnant girl even 10 pesewas; it is only good Samaritans who help us. My husband and I have lost our jobs, my pregnant daughter is in great danger because she has not seen any doctor and she is two months away from delivery. She keeps complaining about her health condition but we don’t have the means to take her to hospital”, she said.