Ahmed Rashid, the 35-year-old man standing trial in the Wa Circuit Court for alleged defilement, has concluded his defence on three dockets that had been built on the case.
The prosecution is expected to file written addresses on the three dockets on October 17, 2023, pending a date to be set for the final determination of the case by the court.
One of the dockets involved a victim, aged about 13 years, who said the accused had sex with her several times, another involved a victim and the third involved three victims, one of whom the accused said was his cousin.
All the victims were aged between 12 and 14 years.
Throughout the cross-examination on the three cases, accused denied having canal knowledge of the victims.
Rashid said apart from his cousin, he did not know the other victims, who accused him of having sexual intercourse with them.
Rashid denied the allegation that the victims had been to his house.
However, Mr Saeed Abdul Shakur, a Principal State Attorney, in the Upper West Region, told the court presided over by Jonathan Avogo that the victims told the police that accused had sex with them in his (accused) room.
The Principal State Attorney said the accused defiled the girls when his (accused) wife left the matrimonial home.
According to Mr Shakur, Anaata’s wife, in a statement to the police said she had problems with Anaata because of his relationship with girls, but Anaata denied the wife’s claim.
Rashid also dismissed the claim that he had his sister’s (one of the victim’s mother’s) phone contact number off-head.
The accused refuted the allegation that he had sex with the girls and gave them food and GH¢10 each.
The accused person, who still had no lawyer, moved a bail application, but the prosecutor opposed it because accused could evade trial.
Mr Avogo denying accused bail, said the fact that Anaata absconded when the alarm was raised for his arrest, was enough evidence that he (accused) would evade justice if released on bail.
Meanwhile, the court had set October 17, 2023, to give judgment on one of the dockets.
In May, 2023, Anaata absconded after he was accused by three school girls of defilement.
In a viral social media video posted in May 2023, three school girls aged between 10 and 13 years accused Anaata, of defilement after the later invited the girls to his house in Wa.
The Chief Executive Officer of Bahass Foundation, Mr Eliasu Baba Yussif, lodged a complaint with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service on behalf of the three defiled school girls.
As the Wa Police investigation progressed on the alleged defilement of the three school girls by Anaata, more girls in the Wa Municipality made the same allegation against accused.
According to reports from the office of the regional state Attorney, accused was remanded in police custody and granted bail in 2016 for defilement, and the victim’s mother was pressured by local opinion leaders to opt for an out of court settlement. —GNA
