An 87-year-old man, Yaw Gahornu, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for repeatedly defiling a nine-year-old girl at Ofankor in Accra.

Gahornu was convicted by the Police Headquarters Gender-Based Violence Court after pleading guilty to two counts of defilement.

The court sentenced him to 10 years on each count, with the terms to run consecutively. He was, however, discharged on a separate charge of unnatural carnal knowledge.

The case came to light on August 29, 2026, when the girl’s mother, a 42-year-old trader, returned from work and noticed blood stains on her daughter’s underwear.

The child subsequently identified Gahornu, who lived in a wooden structure about 40 metres from their home, as the person who had been sexually abusing her whenever she went out to play.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, told the court that the abuse allegedly occurred between July and August 2026.

According to the prosecution, Gahornu had also threatened to kill the girl if she told her mother about the abuse.

The case was eventually uncovered on August 31 when Gahornu was allegedly caught abusing the girl by his granddaughter. She informed her uncle, who then alerted the child’s mother, leading to a report to the police.

The girl was subsequently referred to a medical facility for examination. Police said she was in stable condition but had reported health complications following the abuse.

Gahornu, an unemployed man, admitted the two counts and was convicted on his own plea.

In sentencing, the court considered his status as a first-time offender, his guilty plea and the fact that he had spent about a month in lawful custody.

The court, however, said the seriousness of the offence and the need to deter others warranted a custodial sentence.

Gahornu will serve the two 10-year sentences consecutively, bringing his total prison term to 20 years.