A circuit court at Fiapre near Sunyani has sentenced a 47-year-old unemployed man to seven years imprisonment in hard labour for defiling a 13-year-old mentally retarded girl. Yaw Awotwe pleaded not guilty to the charge of defilement but was found guilty by the court after a two-year trial. The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Kwaku Amoako told the court that the convict and the victim lived in the same house at Baakoniaba in Sunyani. He said on September 3, 2005, the girl's father travelled to their hometown for a funeral leaving her alone in the house. Awotwe took advantage of the father's absence and sexually abused the victim on several occasions and when the girl's mother who lives in another part of Sunyani visited her, the victim revealed her ordeal to her. Mr Amoako said the victim's mother reported the matter to the police and Awotwe was arrested. The court also remanded 22 year-old Kwadwo Kunakey for defiling a two-and-half-year old baby at Penkwase, also in Sunyani. Mr Amoako told the court that the accused and the victim's parents lived in the same house and on December 28 last year the victim's mother left the house, leaving the girl in the care of an elder sister. He said when the victim's mother returned home and could not find her she started calling her and the girl emerged from the accused person's room eating a piece of fried yam. The little girl raised her dress up and pointed her vagina to the mother who inspected the place and found a whitish substance there. The mother reported the matter to the police who arrested the accused person. Source: GNA