A 24-year-old head teacher of a private school at Nope, near Samreboi in the Western Region, Francis Drah, has been jailed 20 years for defiling one of his pupils, aged 13.

Drah, who heads the local Saint Martin Preparatory School, is said to have lured the Class Five pupil into a friend's room where he had lodged during a sporting event and sexually assaulted her.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of defilement when he first appeared before the Tarkwa Circuit Court, presided over by Justice John Ajet-Nassam, on May 21.

The facts of the case, as presented by Inspector Florence Tawiah, were that Drah's school participated in the district's inter-schools sports event at Mumuni Camp from Pentecost Primary School which had been allocated to his school, Drah chose to stay with a friend in town.

At about 6 p.m. on March 19, Drah sent for the girl and lured her to his room.

As he emerged from the room with the girl about an hour later, a teacher of the school whose duty it was to ensure discipline among the pupils, saw them.

Suspicious, the teacher informed a colleague about what he had seen and together, they confronted Drah who admitted having defiled the girl.

The teachers reported the matter to the Samreboi police who arrested the head teacher.

The police referred the girl to hospital for a medical examination which confirmed that she had been defiled.

Source: The Ghanaian Times