The Kwabenya Circuit Court in Accra has sentenced Joshua Bledi, a 58-year-old mason, to 10 years in prison for impregnating his 17-year-old daughter. After pleading guilty to incest, Bledi was convicted and sentenced to a decade behind bars.
The court considered Bledi’s age, the premeditated nature of the act, and his guilty plea when determining the sentence.
Chief Inspector Gershon Togbe Achondo, who led the prosecution, described incest as a cultural abomination and urged the court to impose a stiff punishment to deter others.
The victim, a hairdresser apprentice, had a seven-month-old baby and revealed that her father had been sexually abusing her since she started living with him at her mother’s request.
The case began when the victim sought medical care at the Ga East Hospital and couldn’t afford the bills, prompting a social worker to intervene and ultimately leading to Bledi’s arrest.
