Mason jailed 35 years for defiling two daughters

A mason named Charles Seddoh has been jailed for 35 years after being found guilty of repeatedly defiling his two daughters, according to prosecutors. The sentencing took place at the Circuit Court, located at the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Police Headquarters in Oyibi, Accra. The court, presided over by Annette Sophia Essel, handed down the sentence after finding Seddoh guilty on five counts of defilement and incest.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, stated that Seddoh began sexually abusing his first daughter when she was 14 years old in 2018, and continued to do so for about seven years. In 2021, he started abusing his second daughter, who was 11 at the time. The prosecution alleged that whenever the victims refused his sexual advances, Seddoh would beat them, deny them food, and threaten not to provide for them or support their education.

They claimed that the victims eventually reported their father's behavior, and he promised to stop once they entered secondary school.

On January 3 and 24, 2025, Seddoh allegedly forced the two victims to have sexual intercourse with him. On January 31, the victims went to the Adenta DOVVSU to file a complaint, and on February 4, the mother of the 18-year-old victim handed over a packet of Fiesta condoms to the police, claiming Seddoh had attempted to use them on her daughter. Seddoh was arrested the same day.

The prosecution further noted that Seddoh led the police, along with the victims, to the crime scene at Oyibi, where he admitted to the offences in his caution statement to the police. Following the sentencing, the court ordered that the two victims be referred to a psychologist for clinical therapy to aid in overcoming the trauma associated with the offences, and directed the police to send them to a shelter.