Crime & Punishment of Wednesday, 15 February 2023

Source: GNA

Court orders Police to publish absconding pensioner’s photograph

The suspect The suspect

An Accra Circuit Court has ordered the Police to publish the picture of a 66-year-old pensioner accused of defiling four minors at Lashibi in the Tema West Municipality.

The Court last week issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Emmanuel John Kwesi Mensah Dadson for failing to appear in court.

The Court, therefore, adjourned the matter.

When the matter was called on Monday, the accused person has not been arrested, hence the order to publish the accused picture in the media.

Dadson, who is said to have defiled the victims aged five, 10, 11, and 12 in turns on separate occasions.

Last week Monday when the matter was called before the Court, the alleged paedophile was absent.

He was, however, represented by his surety. The prosecution led by Superintendent of Police Agnes Boafo prayed to the Court for a bench warrant for his arrest for failing to attend court.

The Court presided over by Christina Cann obliged the prosecution’s request. Dadson is facing four counts of defilement.

The facts as seen by the GNA indicated that the complainants are two in the matter.

One of the complainants, a trader, is the mother of two of children, aged 12 and 10. The second complainant is a mason and father of two other children aged 11 years and five years.

According to the facts, the accused person is a retiree residing at a church premise at Lashibi and the complainants, victims and accused have known each other for the past four years.

Based on the said friendship, the victims visited the accused person to assist them with their homework and watch television in his wooden structure close to the church.

The accused person is said to have lured the victim into his room one after the other on separate occasions and had sexual intercourse with them. Due to the sexual molestation by the accused, the victims refused to visit the
the accused person and they narrated their ordeals to the two complainants.

On November 11, 2022, the complainants reported the matter to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit and medical forms were issued to the complainants to send the victim to the hospital for examination, treatment, and report back.

The matter has been adjourned to February 28.

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