Produce sodomy victim today - Court orders
The Accra Circuit Court hearing the sodomy case involving a medical doctor yesterday ordered state prosecutors to produce the victim in court today for the case to begin.
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The order followed the failure of the prosecution to bring the 16-year-old boy to court as agreed on the last adjourned date.
According to the prosecutors, the victim, whose name has been withheld, was not in the right frame of mind to appear before court.
But the presiding judge, Mrs Rita Agyeman-Badu, said cases of that nature were sensitive and must be heard “expeditiously”.
“The court is interested to have the case started immediately and it can move to wherever the victim is to take his evidence,” she said.
Sulley Ali-Gabass, a gynaecologist at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi, has been charged with two counts of defilement and unnatural canal knowledge.
Background
According to the facts of the case, the victim, a student, resides at Kasoa, while Ali-Gabass is a medical practitioner at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
In September 2013, the victim encountered Ali-Gabass on Facebook and they became friends.
“They chatted online and communicated by phone for a while until October 2013, when Ali-Gabass arranged and met the victim at the Kasoa New Market area, where he forcibly had anal sex with him in his car,” the prosecution said.
About 7 p.m. on December 28, 2013, they met again at the same venue and Ali-Gabass had anal sex with the victim, after which he offered him a Samsung Galaxy mobile phone and GH¢20.
After the second sexual act, the student became ill, and on informing the doctor, he prescribed paracetamol tablets for the victim.
The act was repeated at the same venue in February 2014.
According to the prosecution, in March and April 2014, Ali-Gabass lured the victim to his (doctor’s) house at Alajo in Accra and again had anal sex with him.
“After the fifth incident, the victim started experiencing excruciating pains and complained to Ali-Gabass to give him money to attend hospital but he refused.
“Rather, he threatened the victim persistently via phone calls and managed to put fear in him to deter him from disclosing his ordeal,” the prosecution added.
Victim’s condition
It said in August this year, the victim’s condition became so critical that he was sent to the Ahmadiyya Mission Hospital at Agona Swedru, from where he was later referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment.
“Ali-Gabass was informed of the boy’s condition and he gave GH¢800 to the victim’s elder brother to cater for his medical expenses,” it stated.
The victim has since undergone anal fistula and anal rectal abscess surgical operations at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
While receiving treatment at the facility, he was diagnosed as being HIV positive and he mentioned Ali-Gabass’s name as the one responsible for his complications.
“When interrogated, the accused admitted having known the victim as a friend. He said he had on three occasions visited the victim at Kasoa and also once taken the student to his house at Alajo. He, however, denied having unnatural carnal knowledge of him,” the prosecution added.