A youth, who was accused of sexually assaulting a minor boy, was acquitted by a trial court here on Friday. K. Soman, the Additional District and Sessions Judge of the court for trying cases related to atrocities and sexual violence against women and children, acquitted the accused as the prosecution could not prove the case against him beyond doubt.
The prosecution case was that the accused, a construction worker, sexually assaulted the boy, a Scheduled Caste member, at an under-construction toilet block at the boy’s school. However, the court found that the accused was not working at the site at the time of the alleged offence, which was confirmed by the police on verification of the mobile tower location of the accused.
Flaws in investigation
Listing the flaws in the investigation, the court held that the prosecution had created much confusion regarding the date of the alleged incident. The boy might have been subjected to sexual attack at the place. However, the prosecution failed to satisfactorily prove the date of the attack and the offender. The prosecution also failed to examine the investigation officer in the case as a witness, the court noted.
The court found that the police had not conducted an identification parade in the case. No attempt was made to preserve the bite mark allegedly found on the boy’s body, and subject it to medical examination, which would have helped in identifying the accused.
The investigating officers did not take care to conduct a DNA test on the clothes worn by the boy at the time of the alleged offence to identify the perpetrator, the court noted.
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