Teacher jailed 10 years for sodomising boy, 12

A 30-year-old class three teacher, Seth Kwabena Anim, has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for sodomising a 12-year-old boy.

The victim (name withheld) is a first year junior high school (JHS) student in the school where the convict teaches.

The court, presided over by Ms Christiana Cann, sentenced Anim on his second appearance when he pleaded guilty to a charge of defilement.

He is to serve his sentence in the Ankaful Maximum Security Prison in the Central Region.

Arrest

Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Agnes Boafo said as a result of the closure of schools following the coronavirus outbreak, Anim had been visiting the victim at home to assist him with his online school assignments.

Anim was arrested on June 11, 2020, when the mother of the victim suspected the teacher of having unnatural carnal knowledge with her son.

The mother, the prosecutor said, went through the boy's WhatsApp messages and discovered chats and exchange of obscene materials between him and the teacher.

DSP Boafo said the mother upon further probing found out that the teacher had been coming to the house in her absence to sexually abuse her son after he had assisted him with his school assignments.

The boy later confided in his mother that the teacher had engaged in the act with him on three occasions.

Cover blown

Anim, who was unaware his cover had been blown, went to the house at about 11.30a.m.  on June 11, 2020, and when he had undressed and was ready to have unnatural carnal knowledge with the boy, the mother of the victim and other relatives who had laid ambush entered the room and found the teacher naked, about to undress the boy.

A police patrol team from the Accra Regional Police Headquarters was informed and they proceeded to the house to arrest Anim and took him to the regional office of the Criminal Investigations Department for further investigation.

In his caution statement, Anim admitted to the offence but said it happened on two occasions and not three as mentioned by the victim.

‘I am sorry’

After his sentence, Seth told the Daily Graphic that he was confused and did not understand what happened.

"I am sorry. The whole thing happened very fast. I don't know what came over me," he said with remorse.

According to him, he was introduced to sodomy by a classmate while in senior high school.

His aged parents who were in court shed tears when he was being taken away to begin his sentence.

Police advise

The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, who accompanied the police investigators to the court, advised parents to extend the same attention they pay to their female children to the males also.

She said anal sex could be a subject of abuse to female children as well and that parents should observe and monitor their children carefully in order to detect any sexual abuses.

DSP Tenge advised parents to take interest in sex education and create the atmosphere for their children to open up and share their ordeals if any, with them.