Hohoe, June 28, GNA - Two cousins, Wisdom Bediako, 27, a driver and Prosper Ahiaku, 32, mason, who gang defiled a 14-year-old girl have been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each by a Hohoe Circuit Court. Wisdom and Prosper who initially pleaded not guilty changed their plea to guilty.

Police Chief Inspector Samuel Gbedemah told the court that on April 28, Wisdom saw the victim at the Hohoe main lorry park at about 2300 hours. The girl failed to return home for fear of being beaten following her loss of her day's sales.

Wisdom lured the victim to an obscure corner of the park and sexually molested her after which he led her to Prosper's house to have a bath. Prosper also forcibly had sex with her after which the three slept in the same room and the two men sexually assaulting her till the next day. On April 30, Prosper again lured the girl into a classroom on their way to the farm and had another round of sex and asked her to wait for him to collect some maize that they were going to plant but had forgotten at home.

The prosecution said the victim was spotted by a witness in the case while waiting by the roadside and took her home.

The girl narrated her ordeal the two were arrested. Mr Sarpong-Appiah, in pronouncing judgement, said for not wasting the time of the court he would temper justice with mercy and sentence them to 10 years each in hard labour.

He said the victim was too young to give consent and that their action constituted child abuse that could be of psychological consequences for the victim in addition to the scare of HIV/AIDS infection.