Two men are charged with rape after British girls and their teacher were sexually assaulted at gunpoint during school trip to Ghana
Two men have been charged with rape after four British schoolgirls and their teacher were held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted during a trip to Ghana.
Ishmael Akyene, 34, of Ghana, and Daniel Akpan, 29, a Nigerian national, were charged with a string of offences and have both been remanded in custody.
The group of UK sixth-form teenagers - who cannot be named for legal reasons - were viciously held at gunpoint and raped in Accra, Ghana's capital city, on December 8, 2018.
The pupils - made up of boys and girls - as well as two teachers, travelled to Ghana for a pre-Christmas holiday and to get a glimpse of how the local inhabitants live.
But shortly after their arrival, a number of armed men entered their accommodation and held the group at gunpoint and the female victims were subjected to serious sexual assaults.
Police in the UK assisting the West African country's authorities in their investigation confirmed Akyene and Akpan had been charged, while local media reported that one other person, said to be their accomplice, is on the run.
'Two men have been charged as part on an ongoing investigation by police in Ghana, which is being supported by a UK police force', said a police spokesman.
'Ishmael Akyene, aged 34 years, a Ghanaian national, has been charged by Ghanaian police with 14 counts of robbery, one count of rape, one count of conspiracy to rape, one count of possession of a firearm, one count of possession of an instrument intended for unlawful entry and one count of money laundering. He has been remanded in custody.
'Daniel Akpan, aged 29 years, a Nigerian national, has been charged by Ghanaian police with 14 counts of robbery, two counts of rape, one count of conspiracy to rape, one count of possession of a firearm, one count of possession of an instrument intended for unlawful entry and one count of money laundering. He has also been remanded in custody.'
They have pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them, GhanaWeb reported.
The police statement continued: 'The victims continue to be supported by specially trained police officers, their school and other agencies.
'Detectives from UK policing will continue to support the Ghanaian authorities as the investigation continues. Work is ongoing to locate an outstanding suspect.'
Unconfirmed reports suggested that a security guard had been shot but UK police were not able to confirm this.
