SCANDAL - Lamptey Mills granted bail

Front Page: Daily Graphic, September 12, 2009.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE proprietor of Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Enoch Nii Lamptey Mills has been granted a court bail by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU).
He has been formally charged with forceful marriage of a minor and failing to take responsibility as a father.
The DOVVSU is also investigating the mother and grandmother of the girl for aiding and abetment of crime.
At the time of filing this report, the two women had been invited by DOVVSU for interrogation.
The victim’s biological parents are divorced and was staying with the mother and stepfather.
The Daily Graphic in its September 11, 2009 issue, reported the arrest of Mills by the police for impregnating and forcing to marry a 16-year-old former student of his school.
One year after the girl gave birth, Mills had failed to keep to his promise of building a house for her, providing for the upkeep of mother and child, as well as restoring the girl to school.
The suspect was arrested on Wednesday evening and spent the night in cells at the Ministries Police Station.
He was granted bail late Thursday, September 10, 2009 by the police.
The Public Relations Officer of DOVVSU, Chief Inspector Irene Oppong, explained to the Daily Graphic yesterday that the suspect could not be charged for defilement because at 16 years, a female could consent to sex as provided by the law.
Moreover, she said, since the family members consented to the performance of marriage rites, it would be out of place to charge the suspect for defilement.
Chief Inspector Oppong said it was on that basis that the police were holding the parents of the girl for aiding and abetment of crime.
She said the suspect after his arrest, had also allegedly promised to fulfil his obligations as a husband and father to mother and child.
The suspect is alleged to have started going out with the victim, who was then in the boarding house of the school at Kasoa.
After the girl became pregnant, Mills approached the family of the girl to abort the pregnancy but the suggestion of aborting the foetus, which was then less than two months old, was declined by the girl’s parent following which Mills offered to perform the marriage rites after asking the girl to stay out of school to take care of herself and the pregnancy.
He also allegedly promised to take care of the girl, build a house for her and support her to return to school to continue with her education.
However, according to police sources, after performing the rites, Mills abandoned the girl and her family until he was informed that the girl had given birth.
They said on hearing that the girl had given birth, the suspect informed the family of the girl that he doubted whether he was responsible for the pregnancy and demanded a DNA test to be conducted.
According to the sources, after failing to show up on promised dates for the two parties to go for laboratory samples to be taken for the DNA test to be conducted, the family of the girl reported the matter to the police.
Section 14 (1) of the Children’s Act, 1998 provides that “No person shall force a child: (a) to be betrothed; (b) to be the subject of a dowry transaction; or (c) to be married.
Subsection 2 of Section 14 provides that “the minimum age of marriage of whatever kind shall be 18 years”.
The penalty for contravening the above as stated in section 15 provides that “Any person who contravenes a provision of this sub-part commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding GH¢500 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year or to both."