A Circuit Tribunal at Cape Coast on Tuesday sentenced a 72-year old farmer from Assin-Enyinabrim in the Assin district of the Central Region to ten years imprisonment for defiling a 12 year-old girl.

Benjamin Kwame Arthur pleaded guilty. Passing sentence, Mr. Peter Aggrey, Presiding chairman, said Arthur acted irresponsibly and "needed to suffer" for his actions, adding that but for his age, he would have been jailed for 25 years.

Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Augustine Amoonoo told the tribunal that the victim, stayed at Enyinabrim with her mother. He said on 7 June this year, at about 0630 hours the victim went to sell Kerosene while the mother left for a wake-keeping, but on her return at about 0023 hours, the woman did not find her daughter at home.

Insp. Amoonoo said Madam Koafo found the victim in a house nearby, but she bolted on seeing her mother. He said the next day, when Madam Koafo questioned her daughter about her behaviour the previous day, the victim told her that during her rounds, Arthur bought 300 cedis worth of the kerosene and gave her a 5,000 cedis.

Insp Amoonoo said the girl told her mother that she left her kerosene at Arthur's house and went to look for change for the amount. On her return Arthur asked her to bring the money to him in his bedroom and she obliged and the convict forcibly had sex with her.

The mother reported the matter to the police, and Arthur was arrested. The prosecutor said a medical report from the St Francis hospital at Assin Foso, indicated that the victim had been defiled.