Three JHS boys arrested for allegedly gang-defiling 15-year-old colleague

Following the incident on January 27, 2024, the police arrested the suspects, who had since made two appearances before the Mampong Magistrate Court to face prosecution for their alleged actions.

In Ghana, the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (29), prohibits any “natural or unnatural knowledge of a child less than sixteen years of age,” consequently, any person, regardless of their gender, who engages in sexual intercourse with a child, with or without their consent, is found liable to the crime.

The heart-wrenching case has sparked a conversation about the importance of educating young people about such offences and the consequences of their actions.

As the trial proceeds, the community grapples with the complexities of this tragic event and its implications for the future.

Nantomah, the Project Coordinator of Plan International Ghana’s ‘Be Smart, Learn, and Stay Protected,’ said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, that one of the suspects was the victim’s classmate, with the others being school dropouts.

He explained that the victim, who lived with her 63-year-old grandfather, had gone to her friend’s (one of the suspects’) house together with her younger sister in the evening to borrow his book.

Nantomah said the two other suspects attempted to talk to the victim, but she refused to engage them as they were making their way back to the house with the two friends.