The results from the DNA test to establish the paternity of a baby boy by a fourteen year-old girl was on Monday December 12, 2011 Court.proved negative. This was perhaps to reinforce the perception that only mothers can tell who the father of their babies is. A 77-year-old retired clerk, AMOS ASANTE, was granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court having been on remand for the past three months for allegedly defiling and fathering a baby boy with a 14-year old mother. The question is was this girl defiled at all or she was simply multiple timing men? I heard that children don't tell lies and book also does not talk lies. Then what am I to believe. Anyway, fortunately for me, I am not in the hot seat and certainly I don't envy Georgina Mensah-Datsa at all. She now has to decide the father of the boy since the book says the 14-year old child-mother did not see the father of her boy.
According to the Daily Guide report this was after counsel for the retired clerk, Ellis Owusu Fordjour informed the court presided over by Georgina Mensah-Datsa that results from the DNA test to establish the child’s paternity proved negative.
He said according to the results, the man could not be the baby’s biological father because their genetic make up did not match and consequently prayed the court to grant bail to his client.
The judge consequently granted bail to Asante in the sum of GH¢10,000 with a surety while the case has been adjourned to January 18, 2012.
The accused looked astounded during his first appearance in court as the case was called and pleaded not guilty to the offence of defiling a girl below 16 years of age.
On the submission of George Assamaney, counsel for the old man, the judge ordered a DNA test to ascertain whether or not the retired clerk really fathered the child.
Mr. Assamaney said his client was surprised at the allegation leveled against him and would like a DNA test conducted before the trial resumed.
Mrs. Datsa however declined defence counsel’s application for bail at the time and had the accused person remanded in police custody till the outcome of the DNA test.
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecuting officer ASP Sarah Ekua Acquah told the court that the complainant Ofori Badu is the father of the victim and a trader living at Kasoa while the 14-year-old currently lives with her grandmother at Asiakwa in the Eastern region.
She said the accused person is a retired clerk living at Mallam, adding that the accused person’s wife is related to the complainant.
According to her, the teenager stayed with the accused person and his family for two and a half years.
The prosecutor noted that in 2010, the accused person had sexual intercourse with the victim and warned her not to tell anybody. The warning scared the girl so she kept the matter to herself.
Furthermore, she said the victim later got pregnant and when questioned she mentioned the name of the retired clerk as the one who impregnated her.
In addition, she noted that the victim gave birth to a baby boy on July 12, 2011 and a report was subsequently made to the police at Odorkor.
She said the accused was consequently arrested and the case transferred to the Police Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit in the Greater Accra region. The accused person was arraigned after police investigations.
