Man gets 10-yr-jail for repeated sexual assault on minor

A 26-year-old man was handed the term under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act

A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to ten-years of rigorous imprisonment by a special court trying cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for repeated sexual assault on a 16-year-old who lived in his neighbourhood.

Prosecutor Geeta Sharma said the minor had got pregnant as a result and had produced the DNA report of the foetus which tested positive for the youth. The foetus had been aborted as the victim was a minor.

In her testimony before court, the victim had said

that she had an affair with the youth who used to stay with his aunt in her neighbourhood. She told the court that she had a physical relationship with him for a year.

In her cross-examination, she said that when she had learnt about the pregnancy she was not ready to file a complaint. In her initial statement to the police when she was taken for abortion by her grandmother to BYL Nair Hospital, she had named a fictional person. When she was cross-examined, she said she had done so to save the man and that she was not willing to file the complaint, but had done so on the instructions of her mother and grandmother. She had also said that she had consented to sexual relations and would call him home when no one was present.

Special Judge under the POCSO Act, NS Shaikh, imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the youth, of which it directed that Rs 3,000 be paid to the victim as compensation.

Special Judge under the POCSO Act imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the youth of which Rs 3,000 be paid to the victim as compensation

The youth had been in jail for over a month in 2016. The court has directed that the period he has undergone as an undertrial be deducted from his sentence. A detailed order copy is awaited.