THE RATE at which Ghanaian children are being sexually abused by adults has assumed an alarming proportion as new cases are reported daily in various communities across the country.
The freshest of such incidences was said to have happened at Appolonia, a suburb of Ashaiman, where a certain Alhassan Baaba, a teacher at Victory International School, was arrested by the Ashaiman police for allegedly sodomizing one of his pupils.
He was arraigned before the Ashaiman Circuit Court presided over by Seyram Y. Azumah, where he pleaded not guilty to the charge leveled against him.
Briefing the court, Chief Inspector Daniel O. Nortey said that the complainant is a farmer who lives at Appolonia with his family, including the victim (name withheld), a 6-year-old primary one pupil.
He noted that the accused, Alhassan Baaba, is a teacher at the same school where the victim is a pupil. On October 27 2009, at about 5:00pm, the victim’s mother, Beatrice Mensah, was bathing her son when he told her that during their break period the accused had sexual intercourse with him through his anus.
According to Chief Inspector Nortey, the accused was alleged to have warned his victim not to disclose the affair to anybody; else he would cane him at school.
Chief Inspector Nortey said that the mother of the boy realized an unusual behaviour in her son, adding that anytime she bathed him and tried to wash areas around his anus, he usuallycomplained of pains. She however stated that it did not occur to her to suspect that someone was having sexual intercourse with her son in the anus until the victim narrated his ordeal to her.
He indicated that the complainant quickly brought the victim to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) and lodged a complaint, after which the police issued a medical report form for the boy to attend Tema General Hospital for examination and treatment.
Chief Inspector Nortey said the report later showed that though the victim had complained of pain in the anus, there was no laceration seen in the anus. The accused was arrested by the police, but denied the offence in his caution statement. He was subsequently charged with the offence after investigations.
