A cruel, amorous former teacher at Tanoso near Sunyani, Ebenezer Amakye, has caused the physical disability of a 16-year-old schoolgirl after raping her, and maiming her for life.

The young girl who until her nightmarish experience, was a virgin, can now walk only with the help of crutches. Narrating the pathetic story to The Mirror at Tanoso, Miss Comfort Asare, the victim?s elder sister, said the teacher who was on the staff of the Tanoso Presbyterian Primary School, was staying in the same vicinity with the victim, who was a final-year pupil of the Tanoso Model Junior Secondary School (JSS).

She said after the victim had returned home from studies around 9 p.m., in August, last year, Amakye sent Comfort?s sister, Abena Patricia, to call the young girl so he could send her and she obliged.Miss Asare stated that no sooner had the young girl entered Amakye?s bedroom than he proposed love to her.

She turned down the proposal with the explanation that she was not mature yet and again such an illicit affair could undermine her determination to further her education to a senior secondary school.

She said when Amakye who was highly infuriated, realised that the girl would not yield to his sexual demand, he gagged her with a rag and forcibly removed her pants in an attempt to defile her but she fiercely resisted. According to Miss Asare, in the struggle that ensued between the two, Amakye allegedly broke the girl's right leg at the hip, thereby rendering her very weak and that gave him the chance to know her carnally.

She said after the act, the victim who was traumatised and very much ashamed had to stagger to her house but did not disclose her ordeal to anybody.Miss Asare stated that after some time, the girl fell seriously ill and was rushed to the Tanoso health centre, which referred her to the Sunyani Regional Hospital where she was admitted for a week.

She said when the victim?s condition deteriorated she was referred to the Duayaw Nkwanta St John of God Catholic hospital for orthopaedic surgery and there she was admitted for an additional three weeks, that is, from August 19 to September 9, 2003.

Miss Asare stated that it was at the Duayaw Nkwanta hospital that the young girl narrated her ordeal to the medical officer who was treating her and the doctor advised the parents to report the matter to the police and they did so at the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) at the Sunyani Police Headquarters.

According to a medical report from the hospital dated March 8, 2004 and signed by Dr Prosper A.K. Moh, the Orthopaedic Surgeon and Senior Medical Officer in charge of the hospital, even though the girl would continue to experience severe pains, surgical operation was impossible because of the delay in sending her to the hospital for treatment.

The medical report further stated, ?The deformity is very serious and will have a negative effect on the future of the young girl. She will never walk normally again, she will limp the rest of her life and with pains. Her inability to open her hips can affect her sexual life and her ability to have a normal delivery?.

The total assessment on the medical report gave the degree of permanent incapacity as 80 per cent while the degree of disfigurement is 20 per cent.According to Miss Asare, when the police arrested Amakye and granted him bail, he jumped bail and managed to apply for transfer from Tanoso to Kukuom.

Miss Asare said in April, this year, she bumped into the accused in Sunyani, raised an alarm and with the help of some good Samaritans, Amakye was arrested and was rushed to the WAJU in Sunyani.She stated that the police later arraigned the teacher before the Sunyani District Magistrate Court ?B? presided over by Mr Charles Adjei Wilson that remanded him in prison custody for six weeks.

In his contribution, the victim?s 66- year-old retired father, Mr K. Asare, said he had so far spent about ?3 million on his daughter?s illness.He continued that he had had to dispose of much of his property including all his sheep in order to defray hospital expenses, adding that for the past two months he had not been able to send the girl for review at the hospital because he could not afford the monthly review fee of about ?130,000.

According to Mr Asante, when the victim was on admission to the Duayaw Nkwanta hospital, Amakye visited her and gave him (Mr Asante) ?400,000 to defray part of the debt incurred on the daughter and that was the end. When Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Alex Yartey Tawiah, the police officer in charge of the courts unit, was contacted he confirmed the story and said the accused was put before court and charged with rape.

He added that the court remanded the accused in prison custody until June 15, this year, while the case docket was sent to the law office for advice. According to DSP Yartey Tawiah, the parents of the accused secured the services of a lawyer who filed a motion for bail that was granted without the knowledge of the prosecution and the judge who is currently on relieving duties at Winneba.

DSP Yartey Tawiah cautioned the parents of the victim not to yield to any pressures to arbitrate the case at home since it is a very serious criminal matter