Lebanese 'rapist's' wife weeps in court

The 39-year-old was suspected to have raped his Ghanaian house help at his Airport Hills Residential home in Accra.

The court presided over by Justice Kofi Dorgu refused to hear the bail application by the accused’s lawyer, Ralph Opoku Adusei because the state prosecutor in charge was indisposed.

Lawyer for the accused pleaded with the court to consider the fact that the wife of Mr Haddad and two children have been thrown out of their house, but the Judge told the counsel to come back to the court on January 9, 2018.

The counsel for the accused prayed for bail, but the court refused on grounds that they did not have the jurisdiction to do so.

Background

The victim in this rape and assault case, who speaks only Ewe and French, said the suspect beat her after his apparent displeasure with the coffee she had prepared for him.

Four policemen from the East Legon District Police Command arrested Haddad Rabih, around 11:45 pm.

The suspect, according to reports forcibly had sex with the victim around 5 pm on Saturday in the absence of his wife and other occupants of his household after subjecting her to severe beatings for resisting his demands.

The incident happened at Airport Hills residential area.

The victim narrating her ordeal after seeking medical care, the victim (name withheld) said the suspect beat her up mercilessly after she refused to accede to his demands for the second time.

He slapped her twice on the face, finally overpowered her and dragged her to his bedroom to rape her.

According to the victim who could barely turn her neck, she had been in the employment of the suspect from the month of November but was persistently harassed by him for sex anytime his wife was not at home.

She said the event was the fourth time the suspect had raped her in a total of two separate encounters.

Narrating how it happened, she said the suspect directed her to have her bath after his wife, another house-help and his children had left home.

After her shower, the suspect allegedly directed her to his kitchen, which was close to the master bedroom to prepare him coffee.

She obliged after he refused to allow her to dress properly after bathing.

On reaching the kitchen, he locked the door but her attempt to escape was not successful.

The victim said Rabih threw her out of the room after raping her twice. She bled after the act.

Former AG steps in to serve as lawyer for the victim

Former Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, has stepped in to serve as the lawyer of the victim.

Mrs. Appiah-Oppong said she was keenly following the case, and expressed some satisfaction with the course of the investigations so far, and said she will ensure justice is served.

"We are fortunate to have caught this one early so that the investigation can be done properly. Very often, by the time we become aware of a situation like this, time has elapsed, evidence is lost and it becomes very difficult to follow up on it. That is why we are very keen to follow up on this one to make sure that the proper investigation and proper prosecution is also done," Mrs. Appiah-Oppong said.

The police administration has said they will put forward a strong case to ensure justice is served.