A 48-year old driver’s mate at Saltpond in the Nfantsiman Municipality of the Central Region, has been sentenced to 15-years imprisonment in hard labour by a Cape Coast Circuit Court for defiling a 10-year-old girl.

The convict, Kweku Imbeah, pleaded not guilty to the charge of defilement but was found guilty by the court after the full trial.

Passing sentence, Ms Sedina Agbemava, the presiding judge, said Imbeah was old enough to know better and therefore needed to be punished to serve as a deterrent to other old people who are fond of molesting young girls, sexually.

Police Chief Inspector Paul Peter Amoah told the court that the complainant, Madam Yaa Oforiwaa was a native of Mankessim and the biological mother of the victim while Imbeah was a resident of Saltpond.

He said on Sunday January 11, at about 1322 hours, the victim; a pupil of the Roman Catholic Basic School went to the Okye River at Mankessim to wash her clothes.

Imbeah appeared at the spot and volunteered to wash the clothes and sent the victim to the roadside to buy him bread.

When she returned with the bread, Imbeah abandoned the washing and took the girl to the bush where he had sexual intercourse with her and gave her GH? 1.00 after the act.

The convict spotted the girl again the following day around 1900 hours at the Cape Coast Lorry Station at Mankessim, lured her into a vehicle and defiled her for the second time.

He said on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at about 0700 hours, a family friend of the victim who works at the lorry station saw the girl in Imbeah's company and informed her mother and upon interrogations she narrated her ordeal to her mother.

Madam Yaa Oforiwaa lodged a complaint at the police station where a medical form was issued for the girl to undergo a medical examination at the hospital.

The medical report confirmed that the victim has been defiled and Imbeah was arrested.