The prophet has filed an appeal at an Accra High Court challenging the verdict by the Circuit Court on grounds that the judge erred in delivering such judgment when the defence had created sufficient doubts in the case of the prosecution.
Counsel for the convict, Adomako Acheampong and the Principal State Attorney, Rexford Wiredu, appeared before an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Dzakpasu, for the appeal to be heard. The convict is praying the High Court to quash the decision of the lower court.
However, when the case was called, Mr. Wiredu sought an adjournment after informing the judge that their statement of case was not ready.
According to him, he had a discussion with the Director of Public Prosecution, Gertrude Aikins, who advised that he should make a short address. He said he would file the address on Monday June 13, 2011. The court subsequently adjourned the matter to June 15.
Meanwhile, Prophet Onetouch was absent in court yesterday.
Onetouch was convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the two charges of defilement and incest but the sentences were to run concurrently.
The Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs. Georgina Mensah-Datsa, found him guilty of having sexual intercourse with his 10-year-old daughter, although the prophet, even while being escorted to jail, still maintained that he did not commit the crime, and screamed, “God should kill me if I defiled my daughter!”
Mrs. Mensah-Datsa, in her judgment that lasted for about 25 minutes, indicated that the victim was truthful, as her evidence was corroborated by prosecution witnesses and medical reports.
The two reports from doctors who examined the victim, according to the judge, said the hymen was not intact and that corroborated the victim’s story.
The pastor, dissatisfied with the ruling, has appealed against the verdict on grounds that “the trial judge convicted and sentenced the appellant without adverting her mind on the evidence given by one of the prosecution’s own witness, ACP Dr. Samuel Amo-Mensah, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Police Hospital; and also a police officer stationed at Akropong who was part of the investigating team, who helped build the case docket and also served as an independent witness of the appellant.”
These two pieces of evidence, the appellant noted, raised serious doubts in the case of the prosecution.
The appellant observed that Mrs. Mensah-Datsa failed “to advert her mind on the sheer implausibility of the evidence especially that of Bernice Owiredu, the mother and victim, adduced for the prosecution”.
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