A TRICYCLE taxi operator, who lured a 15-year-old girl from her home in Ho in the Volta Region and kept her in captivity in his house in a town near Akoefe-Tanto and subjected her to multiple sexual assaults for almost three months, was last week Wednesday sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the Ho Circuit Court.
Emmanuel Hodogbe, 20, who was not represented by a counsel, pleaded not guilty.
Chief Inspector Clever Ayayee, who represented the republic, told the court presided over by Mr Felix Datsomor that sometime in February, this year, the girl left her mother’s home with all her belongings.
Several attempts by the mother to trace the missing girl turned futile, the court was told.
According to the persecution, on May 22, this year, the teenager was spotted by a witness in the case in the house of the accused.
The prosecution said the witness alerted the girl’s mother after which a complaint was made to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), leading to the arrest of Hodogbe.
During interrogation, the girl told investigators that Hodogbe has had sex with her many times while in his captivity.
Subsequently, a medical examination was carried out on the girl and Hodogbe was charged with the offence, the prosecution added.
The court said although the accused pleaded not guilty, the prosecution had proven its case beyond doubt.
Source: Graphic
