Mumbai: A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on Thursday sentenced a 32-year-old man to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a six-year-old child near the lift of their residential building.
Special POCSO judge AD Deo directed that Rs. 50,000 be given as victim compensation under Manodhairya scheme and the mother of the victim be assisted by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in getting the amount. Special Judge AD Deo also imposed a fine of Rs. 26,000 on the man. In default of paying the fine, he will have to serve over six months in prison.
As per the prosecution’s case, the incident took place on Jan 10 last year around 9.30 pm. The family members of the victim were at home and she had gone out to the passage of her building to play. Prosecutor Jyoti Sawant said that the victim appeared before the court for her testimony in March this year. In her testimony before the court, the Class 1 student had said that the man whom she was familiar with, called her near the lift and there showed her obscene photos and sexually assaulted her. The child released herself from the man and rushed home. Her mother found her looking frightened and by taking her in confidence, she narrated her ordeal. The mother had then approached the police and lodged a complaint.
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