47-Year-Old Charcoal Producer Remanded for Physically Assaulting 13-Year-Old Daughter

John Ansah, a 47-year-old charcoal producer, has been remanded into police custody by the Tarkwa Circuit Courts for allegedly assaulting his 13-year-old daughter. Ansah, charged with causing harm, indecent assault, and female genital mutilation, pleaded guilty.

The presiding judge, Hathia Ama Manu, convicted him based on his plea but deferred his sentence to Thursday, April 18, 2024. The court also ordered a social enquiry report from the Social Welfare and Community Development office in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality to aid its decision.

Prosecuting, Police Superintendent Juliana Essel-Dadzie, stated that the complainant, a supervisor at the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), resided at Agona Nkwanta, while the accused was the biological father of the victim. Ansah, a single parent, lived with his children, including the victim, in a cottage at Kwapong within the GREL plantation.

According to Superintendent Essel-Dadzie, Ansah had been subjecting the victim to abuse, accusing her of being promiscuous and engaging in sexual activities. On March 24, 2024, he tied the victim’s legs and hands with a rope in their bamboo house. He then heated two cutlasses in a fire and inserted them into the victim’s private, causing severe burns around her private part and thighs.

Despite the victim’s cries for help, Ansah continued his assault until the next day when she managed to free herself. Fearing that she might expose him, Ansah closely monitored the victim. On March 26, 2024, the victim escaped and was rescued by a witness who took her to the Nsuaem Government Hospital for treatment. Ansah was subsequently picked up by the police and handed over to the Regional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) for investigation.