Mumbai: Observing that maximum cases of children are being sexually abused, a special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Friday sentenced a 27-year-old to a three-years rigorous jail term for groping a minor while she was returning from school.
The judgment was made available on Saturday. The youth was known to the 13-year-old as who lived in her vicinity. In her testimony before the court, the minor said that on July 20, 2018 she was returning from school at around 12.30 pm when the youth, who was brushing his teeth, groped her from the back and touched her private part inappropriately. The frightened girl ran home and told her mother about the incident. Since her father was abroad, the complaint was registered with a slight delay.
After he was found guilty, his advocate had sought leniency on the basis of his young age and that this is his first offence. Special POCSO Judge Kalpana Patil said in the judgment that nowadays there are maximum cases in respect of children who have been sexually abused. The order said that the legislature has taken initiative to protect children from sexual offences, as a result of which the POCSO Act has come into force. It also noted that the accused has committed sexual assault on the victim, which naturally has a long term impact on her mind. It passed the sentence considering the nature of the offence and the legislative intent.
The youth was arrested five days after the incident. He secured bail in June 2020. As he was present for trial, he was arrested again in April this year after a warrant was issued against him. The court noted that the youth had spent two years and four months in prison as an undertrial and hence the period will be deducted from his sentence.
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