Accra: An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 47-year-old educationist to 48 years imprisonment in hard labour for defiling a seven-year-old girl. Sokah Phidels Load, an ex-convict, denied the offence and was taken through a full trial after which he was found culpable.
According to Ghana News Agency, Sokah was previously jailed for a similar offence in 2011 for 25 years, which was later reduced to 15 years upon appeal. He completed his term in 2020, only to be involved in another offence. Police Chief Inspector Edna Aningah, providing the facts, told the Court presided over by Mr. G.A Inkumsah-Ishum that the complainant was the father of the victim and they lived in Accra.
Sokah, who worked at the girl's school for three weeks and resided there, had his criminal record unknown to the school's authorities. Police Chief Inspector Aningah said on February 6, 2025, at about 0715 hours, the complainant dropped the victim at school. The ex-convict, who was in his office upstairs at the Administrator's Block, saw the victim entering the Common hall to put her drink in the School's fridge.
Prosecution stated that Sokah called the victim to his office, asked her to show him her panty, and subsequently took her to the teachers' washroom. There, he instructed her to sit on the Water closet, remove her panty, and cover her face. The ex-convict then opened his flap, knelt down, and inserted his finger and penis into the victim's vagina.
The Court heard that the victim attempted to scream for help but was silenced by Sokah, who covered her mouth and warned her not to tell anyone. Chief Inspector Aningah said the girl eventually informed one of her classmates' sisters, who then informed the school authorities.
After school, the victim was called to the Director's office where she narrated her ordeal in the presence of her father, who had come to pick her up. The ex-convict, realizing the victim had informed the school authorities, fled from his office and went into hiding.
Prosecution revealed that the complainant reported the case to the Police, who issued a medical form for the victim to be examined at the hospital. Chief Inspector Aningah said Sokah did not return to the school after the incident, and efforts to reach him were unsuccessful. He later sent a voice note to the school indicating he knew the Police were looking for him but refused to return to the school.
Police received information about his hideout in a container at Santeo. Surveillance was placed in the neighbourhood, and he was arrested on March 13, 2025. After investigation, Sokah was charged with the offence and brought before the court.
