An 87-year-old man, identified as Yaw Gahornu, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for repeatedly defiling a nine-year-old girl.

Gahornu was sentenced by the Police Headquarters Gender-Based Violence Court after pleading guilty to two counts of defilement. The court handed him 10 years on each count, with the sentences to run consecutively.

He was, however, discharged on a separate charge of unnatural carnal knowledge.

According to the prosecution, the abuse began in July 2026 and continued until August 31, 2026, when Gahornu was allegedly caught in the act.

The girl's mother reportedly discovered blood stains on her daughter's underwear on August 29, 2026, after returning from work. When she questioned the child, the girl identified Gahornu as the person responsible and disclosed that he repeatedly abused her whenever she went out to play.

Chief Inspector Opoku Aniagyei, who led the prosecution, told the court that Gahornu had threatened to kill the girl if she told her mother about the abuse.

The prosecution further disclosed that on August 31, 2026, Gahornu's granddaughter allegedly caught him in the act with the girl and reported the incident to her uncle.

The uncle subsequently informed the girl's mother, leading to Gahornu's arrest and prosecution.