<<Print>>

The proprietor of Great Lamptey Mills School, Enoch Nii Lamptey Mills, 42, who was arrested by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service for allegedly marrying a minor, appeared before an Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday but sitting was in camera. The GNA gathered that Mills had been charged with compulsion of marriage. His plea was not taken. Two other accomplices including the victim's mother have also been charged with abetment of crime. Mills dressed in white linen was seen seated in the court waiting for his turn. But when the case was called, parties in the matter, including Mills and his lawyer, sat in camera. The details of the meeting were not made known. Mills and his accomplices are expected to appear before the court next week. On September 10, news broke that Mills had been arrested for allegedly marrying a minor. The victim, whose name is being withheld and is now 18 years old, is a former student of the school at Kasoa in the Central Region, a source at DOVVSU said. The source said that parents of the victim detected that the girl was pregnant and when she was interrogated, she said the proprietor was responsible. According to the source, the family of the victim sent a delegation to the proprietor, who asked that the pregnancy should be aborted because of his reputation but they objected to his suggestion. After two months, the source said, the suspect met the family of the victim and performed the marriage rites and promised the victim a house, upkeep of the child and sponsorship to continue her education. His promises turned out to be a hoax when after the baby was born, the maintenance became a problem, the source said, adding that in June this year, DOVVSU got wind of the case and started its investigations. Under the Children's Act 560 of 1998 section 14 subsection two, the minimum age of marriage of whatever kind should be 18 years, and that a person who contravenes the law would be liable to a fine not exceeding GH�500.00 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year.