Pastor in defilement, pregnancy case denied bail

John Amoah, a 53-year-old Pastor, who allegedly defiled a 13-year-old girl and got her pregnant, has been denied bail by a Bolgatanga Circuit Court.

At the hearing of an application seeking bail for the accused, the court presided over by Mr Alexander Graham, denied him the bail and adjourned the case to July 4, 2022.

Amoah, who is a pastor at Redeemer Church, was accused of defiling the girl in December 2021 while the victim was staying in his home.

Prosecution Officer, Inspector Regina Ali Agong, said about five years ago, the accused, who was the administrator of the victim's former primary school, was assisting the victim to pay her school fees and offering her other social support.

The prosecution said when the victim was going to a Junior High School, the accused assisted her to gain admission into a different school because her previous school did not have a JHS.

The accused then convinced the family of the victim to allow her to live with him so that he could help improve her academic performance to which the family agreed.

The victim then moved to live with the accused and his wife at their marital home at Zuarungu in the Bolgatanga District, which made the two families have a close relationship.

In December 2021, whenever the wife of the accused went to bible school in the evening, he took advantage and had sexual intercourse with the victim, which eventually resulted in pregnancy.

The prosecution said the attention of the complainant, Mrs Yvonne Wepala Wonhua, the Assistant Director at the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, was drawn to the issue and she reported the case to the Upper East Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

An obstetric scan report after the medical examination conducted revealed that the victim was 26 weeks and two days pregnant, the Prosecution added.

The accused who admitted to having had sexual intercourse with the victim was subsequently arrested and charged under the Criminal Offences Act of 1960, Act 29.

GNA