A fast-track special court for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Adoor on Wednesday sentenced a 32-year-old man to 100 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for abusing a three-and-a-half-year-old girl.
Pronouncing the quantum of sentence, judge A. Sameer also imposed a fine of ₹4 lakh on the convict, identified as Vinod, a native of Punnala, near Pathanapuram. As per the prosecution case, the abuse took place in December 2021 at his residence near Enadimangalam.
The convict had earlier preyed on the elder sister of the victim, who is an eight-year-old girl. The court, meanwhile, let off a woman who had been arraigned as the second accused after issuing her a strong warning.
During the trial, the court accepted the prosecution’s argument that the crime should be regarded as the rarest of the rare since there was a witness to the crime.
Having found him guilty under provisions of the POCSO Act, the court awarded him rigorous imprisonment along with a fine. Special public prosecutor Smitha P. John appeared for the prosecution.
