The Circuit Court in Accra presided over by Her Honour Mrs. Christiana Cann has sentenced the 30-year-old teacher who pleaded guilty for defiling a 12-year-old student to 15 years imprisonment.

The court in sentencing him said the convict should have known better and served as a role model for the youth.

The convict pleaded with the court that he was not going to repeat the act and also informed the court that he was writing exams.

But the court in applying the law sentenced him to 15 years in hard labour.

I’m guilty

Kwabena Seth was on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, arraigned and was charged with the offence of defiling a child under 16 years of age contrary to section 101(2) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, (Act29).

His sentence was however deferred to today, June 18, by the court.

Brief facts

The brief facts of the case as presented to the court by the prosecution led by DSP Agnes Boafo, were that the complainant, Bernice Ntow, is a receptionist at Mplaza Hotel at Roman Ridge and lives at New Achimota.

The accused person Kwabena Anim Seth, according to the prosecutor is a teacher at private school (name withheld) at New Achimota and lives at Akweteman a suburb of Accra.

DSP Boafo told the court that, on June 6, 2020, around 6:50pm, the complainant returned from town and found that her son who is a victim in this case (name withheld) age 12 years and Junior High School Form One student has not done his school online assignment.

She told the court that, the victim has also not had his bath which also got the mother angry.

The prosecutor said, the complainant became annoyed and collected the smartphone she bought for the victim because of the school assignment.

Sex cartoons

DSP Boafo added that, the complainant decided to go through the son’s mobile phone and she discovered that Anim has sent the victim a video of cartoons having sex.

She told the court that the complainant then asked the victim who the said Anim was and the victim told her he is a teacher. According to her, the complainant “became afraid and said to herself, a teacher having a relationship with my son?”

“The complainant,” she said, “continued to ask the victim what the teacher has been doing with him.”

“The victim disclosed to the mother that, the accused started to chat with him since March 2020 which he made him direct him to their house and helped him to do his school assignment and therefore insert his penis in his anus and that the accused has done that to him on three occasions,” the prosecutor told the court.

Plan for arrest

“On June 10, 2020 around 1.46,” DSP Boafo told the court that “the complainant saw that the accused was again chatting with the victim on phone that he will come to him at home. The complainant advised the victim to ask the accused to come” for him to be arrested.

According to the prosecutor, the complainant informed witnesses in this case of the development and “asked them to be alert and arrest the accused if he comes to the house.

“The following day, June 11, 2020 around 11:30 am, the accused came to the house to have an affair with the victim.

“The moment accused entered the complainant’s living room, he removed his dress leaving a boxer short and in the event of removing the victim’s dress the victim coughed to signal the witnesses who were then hiding in the kitchen,” the prosecutor told the court.

“They rushed to the living room and arrested accused. Accused knelt down and started pleading for forgiveness. The complainant was informed of the accused arrest and she called in the police patrol team from the Regional Police Headquarters, Accra who proceeded to the complainant’s house and picked the accused to the Regional CID, Accra for further investigation.

Upon interrogation, the accused admitted the offence in his caution statement and stated that he has had unnatural carnal knowledge with the victim in the complainant’s living room on two occasions and not three times as victim said but he does not know what made him do that.

In the course of investigations, medical forms were issued to the complainant on behalf of the victim to attend hospital for treatment.

After investigation, the accused was charged with the offence to appear before the honorable court.