Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Man sentenced for incest

June 7, 2008 (UNPUBLISHED)

A 45-year-old security officer, Laud Ford Mensah, was yesterday sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment with hard labour by the Accra Circuit Court for impregnating his 16-year-old daughter.
The convict was said to have sexually assaulted his daughter several times, leading to her being pregnant and throughout her pregnancy until a year ago.
Mensah pleaded guilty to one count of incest and attributed his actions to the work of the devil.
However, the court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, took a serious view of the convict’s conduct and passed the sentence, which, she said, would serve as a deterrent to others.
According to the prosecution, Mensah, a security officer, lived at Agbogba, a suburb of Accra, with his five daughters. His victim happened to be the oldest daughter.
It said Mensah, a divorcee for the past eight years, confined his daughter, sexually assaulted her and did not allow her to communicate with anyone.
The prosecution pointed out that Mensah named the baby when it was born without the knowledge of his family members and after sometime began making advances towards his daughter.
His daughter, who had had enough of her father’s acts, refused to give in and consequently reported Mensah’s behaviour to the Madina Police.
The prosecution stated that the victim informed the police that her father threatened to kill her, if she dared refuse his demands and out of fear, she gave in.
According to the prosecution, Mensah was arrested on Friday, June 6, 2008 and during police interrogation, he admitted committing the offence .

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