THANE: A court in Maharashtra's Thane district on Thursday convicted and sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping his 8-year-old neighbour.
District and sessions judge H M Patwardhan held that the prosecution had proved all charges under section 376 (rape) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the accused.
Additional public prosecutor Vijay Mundhe told the court that the 56-year-old accused, who was a taxi driver, lived in the same building as the victim in Shilphata of Thane.
On May 14, 2018, the accused accosted the victim who was playing in the building compound and took her to an isolated place on the staircase, where he threatened and raped her, he said.
The victim ran home and narrated the horrifying incident to her parents who later lodged a police complaint, it was stated.
Taking a serious view of the incident, the court convicted and sentenced the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)