Defilement cases recorded by the Domestic Victims and Violence Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ashanti Regional Police, increased from 60 in 2005 to a total of 710 cases between 2006 and 2008.
Statistics provided by the regional DOVVSU, and made available to the Daily Graphic, indicated that while a total of 188 girls below the age of 16, were defiled in the year 2006, as many as 336 virgins, who were below 16 years of age, were also sexually abused and traumatised.
According to the unit, a total of 186 defilement cases were recorded in the region last year, bringing the total number of defilement cases recorded in the region in the past four years to 770.
The Ashanti regional DOVVSU Police Commandeer, Assistant Superintendent George Appiah- Sakyi, told the Daily Graphic that rape-related cases had also been on the upsurge of late.
He said 11 rape cases were recorded in 2005, but the number increased to 69 in 2006, reduced to 50 in 2007 before jumping to 188 cases last year.
He said other cases that had been on the upsurge were neglect of parental responsibility, unlawful removal of children, assault, abduction, abortion, indecent assault, threat and exposing children to harm.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi said last year for example, as many as 1,152 cases of neglect of parental responsibility were reported and 99 cases involving unlawful removal of children as a result of separation by the parents were also recorded.
The regional DOVVSU police commander said 14 abortion and 258 assault cases were recorded in the region last year.
He said 44 and 13 abduction and indecent assault cases respectively were recorded in 2008, with those of threat and exposing children to harm standing at 79 and 34 respectively.
He said cases such as sodomy, bigamy, incest, compulsion marriage, assault by imprisonment and abandonment of children, were also recorded in the region, but they were not of higher magnitude compared to rape, defilement and neglect of parental responsibility.
Mr Appiah-Sakyi said the police had initiated court action against some of the suspects while investigations were still ongoing into some of the reported cases.
He said a total of 1,223 cases currently under investigations, while 703 had been disposed of and 114 cases were still pending before the courts. Thirty-five of the suspects had already been convicted, with 11 discharged by the courts.
He said 15 of the cases were also pending before Family Tribunals with two others pending before the FIDA.
He called on the public to collaborate with DOVVSU by reporting all rape and defilement cases on time to facilitate police investigations.
He said the earlier such cases were reported the easier it was to prosecute the culprits and convict them.
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