Married man gets 10-yr in jail for raping teen

A special POCSO court on Friday sentenced a 31-yearold Kurla resident to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping and impregnating a 17-yearold girl.

According to the prosecution, the girl lived with her mother and two sisters. Her elder sister’s illness meant frequent hospital visits for treatment, leaving the girl alone at home while her younger sister attended school. In January 2018, the accused befriended her on social media. Eventually, the girl fell in love with the accused. In February 2018, the accused visited her house when she was alone. When he asked her to establish physical relations with him, she informed him that she was a minor and that she was not interested in such an act.

However, the accused, promising to marry her, had physical relations with her on multiple occasions. In July 2018, when the mother took the girl to Sion Hospital, it was found that the girl was 18 weeks pregnant. With the child’s and the mother’s consent, the pregnancy was terminated.

The advocate representing the accused argued that the accused was falsely implicated, as the girl claimed to be over eighteen, implying consent. He cited their shared Muslim faith, which allows men to have up to four wives concurrently, disclosing the accused’s previous marriage to the victim. Despite her reluctance due to his marital status, the accused remains willing to marry her. In contrast, the prosecution stressed the importance of waiting until the girl reached adulthood before engaging in physical relations, regardless of the accused’s intentions to marry.

Special judge CV Patil remarked during the verdict, “While law prohibits minors from marrying, it’s implausible that victim, given her age, would have consented to marry the accused, who is already married with two children. Instead, it’s more likely that accused falsely promised marriage, taking advantage of her age, and subsequently engaged in physical relations, resulting in her pregnancy.”

Accused was convicted under section 376 (rape) of IPC, and sections 4 (penetrative sexual assault.), 8(sexual assault), 12(sexual harassment) and 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of POCSO Act, 2012.