Mumbai: A special court, designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on Tuesday sentenced a 26-year-old man to 12-year imprisonment for sodomising a four-year-old boy by luring him with eatables and cartoons.
Prosecutor Veena Shelar said the DNA report was produced as evidence before the court, which showed that the man had sexually assaulted the child. His DNA matched with a swab taken from the child’s private part, she added.
Boy's mother testified before court
Testifying before the court, the victim’s mother told that the child was playing outside the home, and he had returned crying. The boy told her that a man working in the nearby mutton shop called him in by showing eatables and cartoons. The kid further narrated how he was sexually assaulted by the convict. The mother told the court that she had gone to the mutton shop, but the man was not present. She then went to the police station and lodged a case.
The man, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was pronounced guilty by the court under the Indian Penal Code section 377 (carnal intercourse against the order of nature) as well as the POCSO Act. Special Judge Aditee Uday Kadam sentenced him the POCSO Act's section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) while stating that the provision provides punishment of a greater degree.
The man had been in custody since his arrest after the incident in 2016. The period spent in custody as an undertrial will be deducted from his sentence. The court has referred the case to the District Legal Services Authority for deciding upon the compensation for the victim.
