Police said Yusuf, son of Rashid, a resident of Konavattam in Vellore, was an employee of a private bottling company. He had befriended a 17-year-old girl and then coaxed her into accompanying him to Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district, where he raped her. Yusuf had threatened the girl with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone. However, the girl informed her parents. Acting on a complaint from the girl’s parents, the Vellore taluk police registered a cased under the POCSO Act and arrested Yusuf.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Judge M Selvam of the Vellore mahila court convicted and sentenced Yusuf to 10-year RI for the offence and slapped a fine of Rs 3000. Yusuf was later lodged in the Vellore central prison.