An Accra Domestic Violence and Gender-Based Court yesterday dismissed a motion to stay proceedings filed by lawyers of Dr Sulley Ali Gabass, the senior medical doctor at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi standing trial for sodomy.

The court was emphatic that the pendency of an appeal which was the reason given by the defence counsel, did not determine that proceedings be stopped.

The trial judge, Mrs Rita Agyeman-Budu, in an in-camera hearing, as a result, ordered the accused to open his defence on June 1, 2015.

The defence lawyers had sought to stay proceedings after the court had recently thrown out a submission of no case filed in respect of the case.

The lawyers believe their client had no case to answer in respect of the charges brought against him.

The defence counsel, led by John Benson, had over the past weeks quizzed witnesses who testified in the case. Among them were the 16-year-old senior high school victim; Dr Nii Aryeh, the surgeon from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Joy FM’s Manasseh Azure Awuni.

The Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital senior medical officer is before the court for allegedly sodomising a 16-year-old senior high school student.

Dr Ali Gabass has been in custody over a two-count charge of defiling a child under 16 years and unnatural carnal knowledge – an offence he has denied.

He is alleged to have, in the months of October 2013 and April 2014 at Kasoa and Alajo respectively, had unnatural carnal knowledge of the 16-year-old victim.

According to the police, during the month of October 2013, Dr Gabass arranged and met the victim at the Kasoa New Market area in the Central Region, where he forcibly had anal sex with the victim in his car in front of the Kasoa HFC Bank.

During police interrogation, Dr Gabass admitted knowing the victim as a friend but denied having anal sex with him.