Akuapem Poloo conviction: Lawyer berates court for providing no safety net for her son

Lawyer for the jailed actress, Akuapem Poloo has berated the court for providing no safety net for the 7-year-old son of the actress following her mother’s sentencing.

Lawyer Andrew Kudzo Vortia told Journalists on Friday that the “Child is now being exposed, rather than to be protected.”

He wondered how the child is going to be cared for especially when the court was silent on any arrangement of social welfare for the Child in the 90-day period of her mother’s incarceration.

Actress Rosemond Brown popularly known as Akuapem Poloo has been sentenced to 90 days imprisonment by the Circuit Court in Accra.

She was sentenced to 90 days on each count, however, the sentence must run concurrently, the court said on Friday.

This means she will only serve 90 days jail term which is three months.

The Court presided over by Her Honour Mrs Christiana Cann, said such cases are becoming prevalent in society and institutions including the court must act.

The court said it took into consideration all the pleas for mitigation before arriving at the decision.

EIB Network’s Court Correspondent Murtala Inusah reports that Akuapem Poloo who was sobbing all day broke down in tears in the courtroom when she was sentenced.

Prior to her sentencing, the court said, the result of her pregnancy test was negative.

Background

Akuapem Poloo was on last Wednesday convicted on her own plea by the Circuit Court in Accra after pleading guilty to charges.

She was slapped with three charges including publication of nude materials with her seven-year-old son which she pleaded not guilty when she was first arraigned but changed her plea on Wednesday.

The court presided over by Her Honour Christina court deferred her sentencing to today, April 16, 2021 for her to undergo a pregnancy test to ensure she was not pregnant before her sentencing is passed.

The pregnancy test ordered by the court is a requirement by law to ensure that, before a woman who pleaded guilty in court is sentenced, she should know her status.

She was therefore remanded into custody for the prosecution to take her to any Government hospital to conduct the preganacy test and produce the results today.

Charges

The outspoken actress is facing three charges of publication of obscene materials, engaging in domestic violence, a conduct that in any way undermines another person’s privacy or integrity and engaging in domestic violence namely conduct that in any way detracts or is likely to detract from another person’s dignity and worth as a human being.

Rosemond who had displayed her naked picture with her son on social media on June 30, 2020 pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Brief facts

Brief facts of the case presented to the court by the prosecution led by Chief Inspector Agartha Asantewaa were that the complainant is Bright K. Appiah, the Director of Child Rights International Ghana.

According to the prosecution, on June 30, 2020, the accused person celebrated her son’s seventh birthday and she took her nude pictures together with her son who was also half-naked and posted same on her Instagram page which went viral on social media.

She told the court that, the pictures attracted comments, adding that the behaviour of the accused person was likely to detract from the dignity of her seven-year-old son among others.

Chief Inspt. Agartha told the court that the complainant petitioned the Director-General Criminal Investigations Directorate and the matter was referred to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit.

Akuapem Poloo, she said was arrested and in her caution statement, admitted posting the nude picture with her son unintentionally.

But, the prosecution held that Rosemond had deliberately posted the nude picture together with her son.

---Kasapafmonline