The Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court handling cases pertaining to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has sentenced a youth to rigorous imprisonment for 28-and-a-half years for raping his relative, a minor girl.
Special Judge R. Jayakrishnan on Wednesday pronounced the verdict against Selgin D., 22, of Poonthura, after finding him guilty of the crime committed in 2017.
He has been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 25 years and a fine of ₹50,000 under Section 5(l)(m) that pertains to aggravated penetrative sexual assault, rigorous imprisonment for three years and a fine of ₹10,000 under Section 506(1) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal intimidation, and rigorous imprisonment for six months under Section 323 of IPC for voluntarily causing hurt.
The convict has been sent to the Central Prison in Poojappura.
According to the prosecution led by special public prosecutor Vijay Mohan R.S., the incident occurred when the survivor was a Class 1 student and was aged six years. The girl was sent by her parents to stay with their relatives in Poonthura since her mother was suffering from tuberculosis.
Girl beaten up
During her stay, she was sexually assaulted on multiple occasions by Selgin, who also beat her and threatened her against disclosing her trauma to others. The accused had also burnt her leg on the silencer of his scooter. The child opened up with her parents when she returned to her house.
Though the accused was also found guilty of the offence punishable under Section 376(n) of IPC for repeated rape, the court refrained from awarding a separate sentence in view of the limit of punishment prescribed by the relevant laws.
The prosecution presented 12 witnesses and 11 exhibits during the trial. Poonthura station house officer B.S. Sajikumar had investigated the case.
