A 24-year-old professional boxer who lured a 12-year-old class six pupil into his room and had sex with her has been arraigned at a Kumasi Circuit Tribunal for defilement.

Kwabena Sarfo who plies his trade in the super lightweight division, pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of ?20 million with one surety to justify.

According to Constable Gideon Ohene Boateng of the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Unit, the girl, a pupil of the New World International School at Atonsu Bokro, lives with her aunt, Mrs Boakye Marfo at Santasi, a suburb of Kumasi.

Constable Boateng said on Sunday, January 27, 2002, at about 4 pm, the girl's aunt sent her to make a telephone call at a booth at Santasi, but was lured away from the booth by Sarfo who told her that the booth was out of use and asked the girl to follow him to his house to use his personal telephone.

He said the accused after luring the girl to his house had sex with her and thereafter gave her 15,000 cedis and warned her not to tell anybody. However, on her return to the house, Constable Boateng said the girl reported the incident to her aunt's husband who in turn reported to the police who arrested Sarfo.

He said when the case was called and the charge read, counsel for Sarfo, Mr J.K. Addae, pleaded with the tribunal to grant his client bail since he was billed to fight Ben Ankrah alias "Bingo" in Accra this Friday, February 8. Sarfo will re-appear before the tribunal on Monday, February 11.