An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced an unemployed man to three years in prison for sharing naked photos of his ex-girlfriend to friends on social media.
Joshua Asiedu, alias Kwame Ketewa, was also ordered to pay compensation of GH₵10,000 for causing pain and mental stress to the 19-year-old victim.
The verdict came after a court presided over by Mrs Christina Kang found Mr Asiedu guilty of sharing intimate images without consent.
Police said Asiedu shared the victim’s nude photos on her WhatsApp status because she had broken up with him.
However, the court noted that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Mr. Asiedu regarding death threats and domestic violence for the purpose of psychological abuse.
Accordingly, Mr. Asiedu was acquitted of the two charges and released.
In his plea for mitigation, Asiedu begged the judge to grant him mercy, saying, “All the allegations against me are untrue.”
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector General Opoku Anyagye, said the complainant is a 49-year-old trader from Accra.
According to the paper, the victim is a 19-year-old high school graduate who lives with her mother in Odorkor, Accra.
The prosecution said the convict also resided in Odorkor.
In 2018, Asiedu had an illicit relationship with the victim, which her father found out about.
Based on this, prosecutors said the victim told Asiedu that she was no longer interested in the relationship and had broken up with him.
According to prosecutors, Asiedu was dissatisfied with the victim’s behavior in 2021 and posted nude photos of himself on his WhatsApp status, which were made public.
He said Asiedu then shared the photo with two of the victim’s friends, Kasia and Shika.
Prosecutors later said: “The defendant called the victim all the time and threatened her that he would take care of it and that if she didn’t want to lose her life or lose her mother, she could play with him.” Victims were constantly made to feel unhappy, miserable, humiliated, ridiculed, frightened, nervous, depressed, and worthless. ”
The newspaper said authorities at the victim’s school also realized that the victim was being subjected to psychological torture and invited her parents to the school.
The victim was also handed over to the school counselor and a victim report was filed after counseling.
According to prosecutors, the complainant reported Asiedu’s actions to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit on May 17, 2021.
Asiedu fled to an unknown location after learning that he was being searched by police.
Prosecutors announced that Asiedu resurfaced and was arrested on January 26, 2023.
Prosecutors said they obtained an investigative warning statement from the victim’s father for evidentiary purposes and retrieved naked photos of the victim and audio of the threats from his father’s cell phone.
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