Scrap dealer in court for defiling student, infecting her with HIV

A 38-year-old scrap dealer has been taken to the Akyem Swedru Circuit Court, which is under the authority of Mrs Akosua Ataa Nyarko, facing allegations of defiling a 15-year-old first-year student of the St Francis Senior High School and infecting her with HIV.

Haruna Ishaq, the accused individual, denied the  charges of abduction, defilement and conscious transmission of the virus. GH¢60,000 bail was granted to  Haruna Ishaq with three sureties to be justified and is scheduled to return to court on October 23, 2025, for trial.

Haruna Ishaq was remanded by the court before the bail, in police custody twice. Initially, the judge overseeing the case considered a third remand, but Nana Asare-Djikunu and Richard Offin, lawyers representing the defendants  successfully appealed for bail on health grounds, citing the the need for healthcare support for the accused.

As per  the prosecution, the complainant, the victim’s mother, stays with her daughter at Oda New Lorry Park and is engaged in the sale of iced kenkey and sobolo, while the Haruna Ishaq, the accused also stays at the Oda CMB area. On April 26, 2025, the victim was sent by the complainant to go and sell drinks, but she she did not come back home for three days.

After an intensive search by the girl’s friends, Haruna Ishaq, the accused, realising the mother was in search of her, he gave the victim their freedom. The complainant reported the matter to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service at Oda on April 30, 2025, the complainant.

In the course of interrogation, the victim revealed that the accused had sexual intercourse with her over the course of the three days she was held.  Haruna Ishaq, the accused was eventually taken into custody. In his caution statement, Haruna Ishaq admitted to being in a romantic relationship with the girl and confessed to  kidnapping and defilement.

The Oda Government Hospital conducted a medical examination and confirmed that the victim had been defiled and infected with HIV. Regardless his initial caution statement, Haruna Ishaq denied the charges upon appearing in court

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