A-G appeals against Tichler's jail term

Page 20: February 25, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Attorney-General's Department described as “disproportionate to the gravity of the offence” the four-year sentence imposed on Thomas Tichler, the 57-year-old Briton, who was convicted for causing harm and indecently assaulting a three-year-old girl.
It has, accordingly, filed a notice of appeal at the High Court seeking an increase in the sentence, which was passed on Tichler by an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa.
The notice, which was filed last Friday, said additional grounds would be filed on receipt of the certified true copies of the judgement.
Tichler was convicted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008, on two counts and sentenced to four years and two years respectively to run concurrently effective November 2, 2007, the day he was remanded in custody.
Passing judgement, the judge said he took into consideration the fact that Tichler was assaulted by the father of the girl, while the physical injury to the victim was not permanent.
Tichler was said to have inserted his fingers into the victim’s vagina but he denied the offence and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A total of seven prosecution witnesses, comprising the victim, her parents, the victim’s two siblings, a medical doctor and the investigator in the case, testified against Tichler.
Tichler testified and denied any wrongdoing and called two witnesses to testify for him.
The facts of the case were that Tichler, who arrived in Ghana on September 25, last year for a three-month attachment with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), committed the offence at the residence of the victim on October 13, 2007, barely a week after he had arrived in the country.
According to the prosecution, Tichler visited the victim’s father at North Legon, near Redco Flats, on October 13, 2007 and on reaching the house, the victim’s father left the victim and her two siblings in the care of Tichler in order to purchase some items from town.
Tichler engaged the victim and her two siblings, aged eight and six, at the sitting room but later managed to engage the victim alone and succeeded in inserting his fingers into her vagina.
Not quiet long after the incident, the victim’s mother arrived from town and just as she entered the kitchen, Tichler followed her and requested for water to wash his hands.
Later, the victim went to her mother and said she wanted to urinate and while helping her, the mother noticed blood stains in the victim’s panties.
The victim mentioned the accused person as the one who inserted his fingers into her vagina when she was questioned by her mother.
Tichler was arrested and handed over to the Legon police.
The victim was later taken to hospital where she was examined, treated and discharged.
According to the court, the evidence of the little girl, which was taken in camera, was spontaneous and was not disjointed to seem as if it had been rehearsed as suggested by the defence.
It said the girl’s story was consistent, articulate and honest and showed that the convict’s act of carrying the girl on his shoulders and putting her down on the sofa were very contemporaneous with the time of the commission of the offence.