An 87-year-old man, Yaw Gahornu, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Police Headquarters Gender-Based Violence Court in Accra, Ghana, after admitting to repeatedly defiling a nine-year-old neighbour at Ofankor. The victim, who lived about 40 metres from Gahornu, suffered from lower abdominal pain, painful urination, and fecal incontinence as a result of the abuse.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, Gahornu began luring the child into anal and vaginal sex between July and August 2026, threatening to kill her if she told her mother. The abuse surfaced on August 29, 2026, when the victim's mother noticed blood stains in her daughter's underwear. The child then revealed that Gahornu was the person abusing her.
The victim's mother, a 42-year-old trader, lived in the same Ofankor neighbourhood as Gahornu. On August 31, 2026, Gahornu's own granddaughter caught him in the act with the victim and reported it to her uncle, who alerted the child's mother. The matter was then reported to police, who issued a medical form for the victim to receive treatment.
A medical assessment found the girl in stable condition but suffering from lower abdominal pain, painful urination, and fecal incontinence as a result of the repeated anal and vaginal abuse. The court imposed 10 years imprisonment on each of the two defilement counts, directing that the sentences run consecutively for a total of 20 years.
In reaching its decision, the court took into account that Gahornu was a first-time offender, had pleaded guilty without wasting the court's time, and had already spent one month in lawful custody. However, the court also noted the need to impose a sentence that would serve as a deterrent to others, citing the increasing nature of such offences.
The case was handled by the Police Headquarters Gender-Based Violence Court, a specialised court within Ghana's justice system set up to prosecute offences such as defilement, rape, and domestic violence. Under Ghanaian law, defilement refers to sexual penetration of a child under 16, and a child cannot legally consent to sex regardless of the circumstances.
The conviction adds to a string of child sexual abuse cases that have come before the court, reflecting continuing concern among child protection advocates and law enforcement about the vulnerability of children to abuse by people within their own neighbourhoods and households. The case also highlights that perpetrators of defilement are often known to their victims and live in close proximity to them.
Key points
- The 87-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defiling a nine-year-old girl.
- The victim suffered from lower abdominal pain, painful urination, and fecal incontinence as a result of the abuse.
- The case was handled by the Police Headquarters Gender-Based Violence Court in Accra, Ghana.
