Court throws out woman’s appeal in nude pictures case
An Accra High Court has dismissed an appeal of a beautician who was jailed 12 months over fake nude pictures.
The High Court held that Chantel Nunekpeku’s sentence by the lower court was not harsh and that the appellant’s actions were premeditated.
This means that the beautician would have to serve her 12-month jail term handed to her by the lower court.
Meanwhile, at the time of the delivery of the High Court’s judgement, Chantel was not in the country.
The Court had earlier given the beautician who was jailed over the distribution of fake nude pictures of an actress, 21 days to file her appeal processes before it.
But the beautician travelled outside the country after a High Court had granted her bail pending appeal.
Nunekpeku who out of jealousy doctored and distributed the nude images of her boyfriend’s former girlfriend was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court in 2018.
This was after she had changed her plea from not guilty to guilty.
Soon after she changed her plea, the court, which was then presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, handed down the sentence.
Nunekpeku’s boyfriend, Kayode Kalode, a music producer, had pleaded not guilty before the Circuit Court and was on a GH¢10,000.00 bail.
Nunekpeku, after her conviction, filed for bail pending the hearing of her appeal at the High Court and same was granted.
At the High Court on Tuesday March 30, 2021, lawyer for Nunekpeku informed the Court that his client was out of the jurisdiction and due to the COVID19 pandemic, she had not returned to Ghana.
The High Court, however, ordered Nunekpeku’s lawyer to file the appeal processes within 21 days so that the case could be heard.
After several hearings, the High Court fixed October 13 to decide on the fate of the beautician’s appeal processes.
The two (Kalode and Nunekpeku) were said to have photoshopped the complainant’s pictures onto somebody’s nude body.
They were variously charged with offences relating to obscenity, domestic violence, emotional and psychological trauma.
The case as presented by Prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Agnes Boafo, said, in 2018, Destina Tata, the complainant, resided at Awoshie in Accra, whiles Nunekpeku and Kolade who were in an amorous relationship resided at Sowutuom, a suburb of Accra.
The prosecution said the complainant was an ex-girlfriend of Kalode.
According to the Prosecution, on January 23, 2018, Nunekpeku took the pictures of the complainant, which she uploaded from social media and photo shopped them with somebody’s nude pictures and created the impression that the pictures were that of the complainant.
Prosecution said the pictures were then posted on Instagram, attached with the complainant’s name, which went viral.
The act, according to the prosecution, caused the complainant emotional and psychological trauma thereby undermining her integrity, privacy, dignity and her worth as a human being.
According to prosecution, the complainant reported the case to the Police and Nunekpeku and Kalode were arrested.
He said during interrogation, Nunekpeku admitted sending photo shopped nude pictures of the complainant on to social media and that she did that out of jealousy.
Source: GNA