A 35-year-old man who reportedly sexually assaulted his 15-year-old daughter and says the behavior “is a tradition” has been brought before a court for gender-based violence at the police headquarters in Accra. In the Greater Accra Region’s Okushiebiade, close to Amasaman, Bless Gatogo is accused of abusing his daughter three times. He has been charged with incest and defilement. The accuser has refuted the allegations.
Gatogo has been granted bail in the amount of GHC 20,000 with two sureties who must be known to the police, according to the court presided over by Ms. Dora Eshun. The court has adjourned the matter to March 27 for the case management conference.
According to Chief Inspector Simon Tekpor, the accused was a mason and the victim’s biological father, and the victim was a 15-year-old JHS 2 student. The victim lived with the accused’s father and stepmother, according to the prosecution, and in 2022, the victim’s stepmother left for a funeral, leaving the accused and the victim alone at home. According to the report, the accused forced the victim to undress the following morning at around 00:500 when they were both alone themselves in a room. According to the prosecution, the victim complied out of fear, and the accused reportedly forcibly had sex with her on a blanket placed on the floor.
The report stated that on October 20, 2022, the victim’s stepmother left the country once more. At around 4:00 a.m., the victim and her younger brother were asleep in the room when the accused allegedly entered and engaged in sexual activity with her. According to the prosecution, Gatogo and the victim traveled to Sanga, a village in the Volta Region, in November 2022. That evening, the prosecution claims that Gatogo lured the victim into a room and had sex with her for the third time. According to the report, the accused allegedly told the victim that “it is tradition for him to be having sexual intercourse with her” after they both returned home the following day.
According to the prosecution, on January 19, 2023, the victim confided in her teacher who was also a Girl-Child Coordinator. The prosecution said on February 6, 2023, the Coordinator brought the victim to the Amasaman DOVVSU and reported the matter and on February 13, 2023, Gatogo was arrested.
