The Fast Track Mahila Court here on Wednesday sentenced three persons, including the victim’s father, to undergo 20 years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting a Class 5 girl in 2019 at Gobichettipalayam.
The prosecution case is that the 10-year-old girl and her brother were residing with their father, an alcoholic, after their mother separated from them. On December 19, 2019, the girl did not go to school and complained of stomach pain. She told neighbours that her father and two of his friends had abused her. The girl was admitted to Government Hospital at Gobichettipalayam where doctors confirmed the assault. All Women Police Station at Gobichettipalayam registered a case under Sections 7, 8 and 9 (m) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and arrested the girl’s father Kumar (37), and his friends Arunachalam (35) and Mayilsamy (33).
Judge R. Malathi found the three guilty and sentenced the father to undergo 60 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹ 15,000. Arunachalam and Mayilsamy were sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment and were imposed a fine of ₹ 1 lakh and ₹ 2 lakh respectively. The judge ordered the sentences of the three to run concurrently. The judge asked the State government to pay a compensation of ₹ 7 lakh from the Victim Compensation Fund to the girl. The judge also ordered that the fine collected from the accused should be handed over to the girl.
