The Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court in the Eastern Region has remanded a 45-year-old mason into prison custody after he pleaded not guilty to allegedly defiling a two-year-old girl at Ogome near Somanya.

The accused, Richard Langma, denied a charge of defilement of a child under 16 years, contrary to Section 101(2) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), when he appeared before the court presided over by Mr Kwasi Appiatse Abaidoo.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) George Okrah Akomeah, told the court that the complainant, a 24-year-old trader and a relative of the accused, lived in the same compound house with him at Ogome.

According to the prosecution, on June 24, 2026, the complainant, who was unwell, left her two-year-old daughter playing in the compound with another child while she went to rest.

ASP Akomeah said a witness later heard the child crying and, together with the complainant, searched for her and found her in the accused’s room.

The prosecution said the child was immediately rescued and handed to her mother, who noticed she was bleeding from her private part and reported the incident to the police.

The child’s parent was issued with a police medical report form and taken to the Somanya Polyclinic before being referred to the Akuse Government Hospital for further examination and treatment.

She was treated and discharged the same day.

ASP Akomeah told the court that the accused was arrested later that day and, during investigations, allegedly stated that he committed the act because he believed the child had a spirit that needed to be removed.

Following investigations, the accused was charged and brought before the court.

The court remanded him into prison custody after he pleaded not guilty.

The case has been adjourned to July 13, 2026.