Court acquits, discharges Lebanese accused of raping househelp

Haddad Rabih, the Lebanese businessman accused of raping his 19-year-old house help, has been acquitted and discharged by the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court.

Rabih, 39, was acquitted after a seven-member jury returned a not-guilty verdict on Friday, January 31, 2020.

The prosecution had accused Rabih of forcibly having sex with his house help on two occasions and also assaulting her whenever she refused his sexual advances.
According to the prosecution, Rabih started forcibly having sex with the house help immediately she was employed in November 2017.

‘Inconsistent testimony’

However, in his legal opinion to advise the jury in its deliberations, the presiding judge, Justice George Buadi, held that there were inconsistencies in the testimony given by the house help during the trial.

In addition, he held that the eight prosecution witnesses could not corroborate the testimony of the house help.
According