A 28-year-old unemployed man, Natido Kudro, who allegedly raped a 19-year-old fishmonger in the bush after tearing her clothes into pieces, has been jailed 15 years with hard labour by the Akyem Swedru Circuit Court.
The court, presided over by Mr Emmanuel Bart-Plange Brew, convicted Kudro on his own plea of guilty and accordingly sentenced him.
The facts of the case according to the prosecution were that, the victim is a fishmonger resident at the Akyem Etwereso Camp while Kudro lived at Apoli Zevor, also a community in the Akyemansa District in the Eastern Region.
He said around 8 a.m on July 6, 2015, the victim was on her way from Etwereso Camp to Zevor to sell smoked fish when she met Kudro.
The prosecution said Kudro spoke to the victim in Ewe and as she did not understand the language, she did not respond.
Kudro tried fruitlessly to assist the victim to convey her cassava dough in a polythene bag.
He later removed his shirt and used it in making a pad to carry a piece of firewood from the nearby bush with assistance from the victim.
The prosecution said without any provocation, Kudro threw the firewood away, held the victim’s throat, tore her clothes and underwear into pieces and forcibly slept with her.
When the victim rushed to the road side after the act, Kudro quickly traced her and threatened to kill her.
The victim started running towards Etwereso Camp while screaming for help and met some schoolchildren and narrated her ordeal to them.
The children escorted the victim to the residence of one sister Akua at Zevor who gave her some water to have her bath and also offered her a dress to wear.
While at home, the victim had information that Kudro had been arrested and sent to the chief’s palace at Etwereso Camp so she went to the place where she identified him as the one who raped her.
The chief later handed over Kudro and the victim to the police for investigations.
A police medical form was issued to the victim to seek medical attention at the Oda Government Hospital where she was treated and discharged.
In his caution statement, Kudro admitted the offence.
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