The Akyem Swedru Circuit Court, presided over by Akosua Ataa Nyarko, has arraigned a 38-year-old scrap trader on charges of defiling and HIV-infecting a 15-year-old first-year student at St. Francis Senior High School.
Haruna Ishaq, the defendant, entered a not guilty plea to the accusations of kidnapping, defilement, and deliberate HIV transmission.
He was given GH¢60,000 bail with three sureties to support it, and he is scheduled to return to court for trial on October 23, 2025.
The court had twice placed Ishaq in police custody prior to the bail.
Defence attorneys Richard Offin and Nana Asare-Djikunu successfully applied for bail on health grounds, noting the accused’s need for medical care, after the presiding judge had considered a third remand.
The prosecution claims that the accused lives in the Oda CMB area, while the complainant, the victim’s mother, trades in iced kenkey and sobolo and lived with her daughter near Oda New Lorry Park.
The victim was assigned by the complainant to sell drinks on April 26, 2025, but she did not come home for three days.
Following a thorough search by the girl’s pals, the accused released the victim after discovering the mother was searching for her.
The Ghana Police Service’s Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Oda received the complaint from the complainant on April 30.
The victim revealed during questioning that she had sex with the accused during the three days she was detained.
After being taken into custody, Ishaq confessed to abduction and defilement as well as having a love involvement with the girl in his cautionary statement.
The victim had been defiled and infected with HIV, according to a medical checkup performed at the Oda Government Hospital.
When Ishaq appeared in court, he entered a not guilty plea despite his prior admission in the caution statement.
Source: newsthemegh.com