V/R: Undertaker granted bail in alleged child defilement case at Mepe

The Sogakope Circuit Court has granted bail to a 30-year-old undertaker accused of allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl at Mepe in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.

Saviour Gakpo, the accused, pleaded not guilty to a charge of defilement of a female under 16 years, contrary to Section 101 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), when he appeared before the court presided over by Mr Joseph Naadado Mcaly.

The court admitted him to bail in the sum of GHS20,000 with two sureties, one of whom must be a government employee earning not less than GHS2,000 monthly. The accused is yet to satisfy the bail conditions.

Prosecuting, Detective Police Inspector, Nene Oman of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), said the complainant, Mr Awudza Kwabla Alfred, a teacher and guardian of the victim, reported the matter after the child complained of abdominal pains.

The prosecution, from the brief facts filed by the Investigator, Lance Corporal Kukubor Gifty, told the court that the victim, a nine-year-old pupil of Battor Presbyterian Basic School, subsequently disclosed that the accused had allegedly been visiting the school environment during break periods and enticing pupils with toffees, biscuits and money.

According to the prosecution, the victim alleged that on March 17, 2026, she and several other pupils were lured to an uncompleted building in Mepe, where the accused allegedly engaged in unlawful sexual acts with them, one after the other.

The matter was reported to the Police at Aveyime and later transferred to the Sogakope DOVVSU for investigations.

The prosecution said a medical examination conducted on the victim at the Battor Catholic Hospital produced findings that formed part of the evidence gathered during investigations.

Detective Inspector Oman told the court that the accused was subsequently arrested and cautioned.

Investigations were later extended to identify and trace other alleged victims connected to the case.

The court heard that some parents reportedly withdrew their children from school following public disclosure of the incident due to fears of stigmatization, while two of the alleged victims were relocated by relatives to communities outside the district.

Police investigators also visited the alleged crime scene and took photographs to support their investigations.

Following investigations, the accused was formally charged and arraigned before the court.

The case has been adjourned for further hearing on June 18, this year.

However, some residents, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), charged stakeholders to take stringent actions to curb the rising menace in the Tongu enclaves.

Some mentioned that the headteacher of the victims’ school should be queried for not doing due diligence to protect students against such menace, and the perpetrators of such acts should not be granted bail since they are likely to continue same with other minors in the society.

GNA