A Takoradi Circuit Court remanded two Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) students into police custody for conspiring and acting in concert to commit a crime, specifically “sextortion.”
They are Jerome Enyam, aged 19, a resident of Fijai, and Ebenezer Adam, aged 19, also a resident of Kojokrom and a second-year student at KNUST, Kumasi
Their action was in contravention of the Criminal Offenses Act and the Cyber Security Act.
Rhyndolf Owusu Hammond, a 20-year-old former KUNST student, and the complainant’s son, Mr. Stephen Owusu Hammond, were the victims’ friends and yearmates, according to the prosecution’s D/SGT Robert Mensah, who testified before the court chaired by Her Ladyship Harriet Charway.
According to the Prosecutor, in the first quarter of 2023, the complainant’s son recorded a sexual encounter with his girlfriend on camera, which he then uploaded to his laptop.
Driven by ecstasy and awe, his close friend and a crucial witness in this case, Ekow Wilson, downloaded the video onto his phone.
Subsequently, one of the accused airdropped the aforementioned video onto his phone and shared it with his accomplices without Wilson’s knowledge or consent.
The two then threatened to release the picture on social media or demand GH¢1,800.00 in cash from Rhyndolf Owusu Hammond by intimidating, harassing, and coercing him. The images were of Hammond and his girlfriend and contained explicit sexual content.
The Prosecutor stated that on November 7, 2023, they sent the victim a text message using the anonymous Vodafone number 0203224110, jointly and in disguise, informing him that they had a sexual video about him and his girlfriend. They then demanded GH¢2,500 from the victim.
The victim then notified his father, who is now the complainant, who then brought the matter before the Police Intelligence Directorate Takoradi, resulting in the accused individuals’ detention.
Following an investigation, the accused were charged with the necessary offenses after the police recovered a cell phone from each of them that contained the lewd video.
