Teacher in court over defilement of 11-year-old schoolgirl

Bismarck Kyei Baffuor, a 30-year-old Basic Six teacher in a community in the Wa East District, is before the Wa Circuit Court for allegedly defiling an eleven-year-old basic ve girl contrary to section 101 (2) of the Criminal Offences Act of 1960 (Act 29).

The court, presided over by His Honour Jonathan Avogo, heard that in his investigation cautioned statement before an independent witness, the accused person admitted having sexual intercourse with the victim but stated that it was through the anus and not the vagina.

The suspect, who was remanded into police custody on 20th February 2025, to enable the police to conclude investigations, was on 27th February 2025, admitted to bail by the court with three sureties.

They were the headmaster of the school where the suspect taught, or a leader of both the Ashanti Community anywhere in the Region, and a third person who had the financial wealth to retrieve the bail amount should the suspect jump bail.

Information from the Upper West Region Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) indicated that the police had investigated and established a prima facie case against the accused person.

The facts of the case available indicated that on 4th February 2025, at about 0700 hours, while the survivor was in school, the suspect, who intended to carnally know her, asked her to carry exercise books into the office for marking.

As soon as the survivor entered the office, the suspect locked the door and instructed her to remove her underpants, but she became afraid.

The fact added that the suspect then threatened to punish her if she refused, and out of fear, she obliged and burnt down as he instructed her to do.

The suspect, Bismarck Kyei Baffuor, then pulled down his trousers to his knee level and had unprotected sexual intercourse with her.

After he reached orgasm, he took the survivor’s handkerchief, which he used to clean her vagina and threatened to punish her if she revealed what he did to her to anyone.

For fear of being punished, the survivor kept the matter to herself and decided not to attend school with the excuse of having a headache.

The complainant, Mr. Adams, aged 41 years, the survivor’s biological father, took her to the Health Centre, where she was treated and discharged, but the survivor still did not want to attend school.

On 16th February 2025, at about 3:00 p.m., the complainant interrogated the survivor about why she did not want to attend school again, and she then revealed what the suspect, Bismarck Kyei Baffuor, did to her.

The fact also indicated that on 18th February 2025, the complainant reported the matter to the police in the Wa East District for investigation and subsequently forwarded the case to the DOVVSU in Wa for further investigation.

Police Medical report forms were issued for the complainant to take the survivor to the hospital for medical examination, treatment and report, which he did.

The complainant, Mr. Adams, in an interview with the GNA in Wa, alleged a delay in prosecuting the case, which had left him frustrated and his daughter traumatised.

However, court proceedings available indicated that the case was adjourned from 25th March 2025 to 14th May 2025, because the complaint had not returned to have a conference for the case to start, as all processes had been led to begin hearing.