The Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court sentenced an auto-rickshaw driver to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing a minor boy three years ago on Friday.
Special Judge R. Jayakrishnan found Jayakumar alias Unni, 53, of Maruthoorkadavu guilty of the alleged crime under Section 3(d) (penetrative sexual assault) and Section 5(m) (pertaining to sexual assault on a child aged below 12 years) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 with a default sentence of rigorous imprisonment for six months.
According to the prosecution led by special public prosecutor R.S. Vijay Mohan, the incident had taken place on June 27, 2019, when the convict sexually harassed the survivor, who was then nine years old and was studying in Class 4 of a government school in the city. The boy’s family used to reside on rent in the first floor of a building owned by the accused.
Jayakumar called the minor to his house when the latter had returned after a tuition class on the day of the incident. He went on to sexually abuse him and later threatened him against disclosing the incident to others. The survivor opened up on his ordeal when his mother had asked him to go to the landlord’s house three days later when the boy’s younger brother was unwell and had to be taken to the hospital.
Soon, they vacated the house and submitted a formal complaint to the police. The Fort police arrested Jayakumar on July 5. During the trial, the defendant claimed to be the victim of a false case borne out of a quarrel that had broken out for rent dues that were unpaid. He, however, failed to prove such claims.
The prosecution presented 10 witnesses and 12 exhibits during the trial. The case was investigated by M.K. Pramoj, who was then a Fort police sub-inspector.
