Pvt school van driver gets 5 yrs jail for sexual assault on child

Observing that a child’s parents out of faith and trust gave her in the hands of the accused, who was the driver of a private school van and being the custodian of the child, he committed sexual

assault on the 11-year-old, a special court on Wednesday

sentenced a 35-year-old man to five-years imprisonment.

The child had confided in a teacher, who then informed the her mother about the incident. Deposing before the court when she was in Class

V, prosecutor Geeta Malankar said, the child told the court that one of the children in the van had vomited and she was hence trying to find a different seat, when the driver called her to sit beside him. She said he gave her very little space to sit and then the lights of the van went off and he sexually assaulted her by putting his hand into her undergarment. She said she tried to stop him, but he would not stop.

Special Judge HC Shende said in her judgement that crimes involving sexual assault against women have to be severely dealt with.