Military Officer Rapes 20-Year-Old Girl

A Military Officer at the 66 Artillery Regiment in Ho, Volta Region, was on Wednesday remanded into police custody for allegedly raping and attempting to kill a bar attendant on November 29, 2013 at about 12 midnight. The soldier, a 34-year-old Corporal Francis Asana who is married to a prison officer, will reappear in court on January 3, 2014 after the presiding judge, Mariama Sammo adjourned the case due to the absence of the victim, a 20-year-old woman. The Judge therefore instructed that the victim be brought to court on the next adjourned date. She also denied a bail application by counsel for the accused. Sources close to the victim said she worked at the famous Rabazey Spot located at Anlo-Kordzi, a suburb of Ho where she knew Francis as a customer. Information gathered by Daily Guide indicated that Francis had allegedly been proposing love to her, which she always turned down. However, on that fateful night, after she had closed from work and was going home, she met Francis who was driving towards her. He proposed love once more, which she again turned down. He offered to drop her home at Dome, a place close to the 66 Artillery Barracks, where Francis lived but drove past her house and sent the victim to the Barracks. When they got there, the accused requested that she entered a room, and upon her refusal, her ordeal began. He refused to allow her to leave, attracting the attention of other people in the barracks. Evidently, however, he was compelled to let her go. Francis then met her again as she was going home and apologized. He then requested to drop her home, but drove past her house again and took her to the opposite side of town called RTC area, where he picked some friends. The victim claimed to have heard Francis telling the friends that he would �finish her� because she was stubborn and had disgraced him. She pleaded to be returned home but Francis refused. She also pleaded with Francis� friends to prevail upon him to �release� her, but her pleas fell on deaf ears because the accused claimed the victim was his girlfriend and so asked the friends to stay out of it. He then dropped them around OLA and took her to the Klefe mountain road towards Taviefe. When they got to a spot along the road, Francis allegedly got out of the car and directed the lady to do same. After a scuffle, he allegedly over-powered her and forcibly had unprotected sex with her. Francis was alleged to have attempted to kill the victim when he brought out a knife and stabbed her in the left arm. She also sustained bruises on her shin, knee and other parts of the body as a result of the struggle. She managed to escape when the lights of an oncoming vehicles scared and caused Francis to hide. She hid in a nearby bush while the accused drove off with the slippers, mobile phones and other personal effects. The victim stayed in the bush till about 5:00am the next morning when a motor rider gave her a lift to town. The case was then reported and a medical form issued for her to go to the Volta Regional Hospital where Dr. K. Mbroah, an obstetrician and gynecologist who examined the victim confirmed intercourse, cuts and bruises. When Daily Guide contacted the 66 Artillery Regiment Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Abbas Seidu, he directed the paper to one Corporal Irene Manu, an investigator on the case, who explained that the suspect, Francis Asana claimed the woman was his girlfriend and as such, denied the allegation. He confirmed that on that fateful night, they arranged to meet after work. They then went to have sex at Barracks New Town. Thereafter, she requested money, whereupon Francis asked her to accompany him to a community around Taviefe so he could collect money from a friend. Just as they got to a spot along the Klefe Mountain towards Taviefe, the vehicle developed a fault so he went to look for help, but returned to find an empty vehicle. He claimed he searched everywhere for her, but could not find her and so he left only to be later arrested for a crime he knew nothing about.