The 14-year-old JHS student who was alleged to have been defiled by the Volta Regional Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture failed to show up for a scheduled Circuit Court proceeding in Ho on Friday.
The complainant in the case, who happens to be the victim’s sister, also failed to appear in court. As a result, the accused, Mathew Oyih, was remanded to re-appear on Monday, April13, 2015.
The victim and the complainant were expected to be cross-examined by the counsel of the accused in camera, after their evidence was taken at the last sitting.
The absence of the complainant has sparked rumours within the Ho Municipality that they want to settle the case.
DAILY GUIDE’s sources at the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) indicated that all efforts made by the prosecution to contact the complainant and the victim for them to appear in court proved futile.
A source close to the family disclosed that the family of the accused had been making frantic efforts to get an out-of-court settlement with the family of the victim. The source alleged that compensation had been put on the table, but was quick to add that an agreement was yet to be reached in that regard.
The source, who wants to remain anonymous, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that the family of the victim was under intense pressure from various quarters, including chiefs and other highly placed individuals in the regional capital, to drop the case.
At the last sitting, Mr Oyih pleaded not guilty as his counsel, Emil Atsu Agbakpe, applied for bail and described the facts of the prosecution as fabricated. That notwithstanding, the trial Judge, Emmanuel Ayesu-Essampong, asked the victim to give her evidence in camera to enable him arrive at a decision on the bail application.
Based on the evidence before the court, the judge remanded the accused into police custody. Narrating the facts, prosecutor ASP Isaac A. A. Ahor said in July 2014, a witness in the case introduced the victim to the accused as her younger sister.
The accused, a 51-year-old civil servant, allegedly started inviting the victim to his house for sex after offering her money. In February 2015, the victim went to Oyih’s house and returned home late after the accused allegedly sexually assaulted her.
However, when the elder sister of the victim confronted the accused he denied the charge. ASP Ahor said the victim in March 2015, informed the accused that she had missed her period and the accused, on suspicion of pregnancy, allegedly gave the girl some drugs with the inscription ‘Cytotech’ to abort the pregnancy.
After taking the said drugs, the victim rushed home and showed the remaining to her sister. On March 9, 2015, the victim was rushed to the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho after complaining of abdominal pains.
A complaint was lodged at the Ho DOVVSU on March 23, 2015 and the victim was given a medical form to go to the hospital for examination. Based on the hospital report, the accused was arrested. In his caution statement, Oyih was said to have denied the offence, but admitted that the girl was his friend.
His counsel, Agbakpe, also stressed in his submission that the prosecution was dwelling on rumours.
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