The special POCSO court has convicted a 55-year-old man for repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor stepdaughter. However, since he has been suffering from HIV, he was awarded a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
As per the allegations made by the victim, her mother and the accused got married in 2014 and shifted to his house in Goregaon. The victim claimed that in May 2014, her mother went to their relatives' house in Karnataka for 20 days and on May 19, the accused raped her as he was inebriated. Even before the victim's mother was married to the accused, he tried to rape the victim then also but her mother rescued her. However, they couldn't take any action as they were dependent on him financially. Later, she narrated the May 19 incident to her teacher, leading to the registration of the case with the Aarey police.
However, the victim's mother died while the trial was pending. The court accepted the girl’s testimony which was supported by the medical evidence. “Testimony of oral as well as medical reports establishes that the accused committed rape on the victim,” the court said while convicting the man.
The court, however, showed leniency as the man and said, “The accused is now 55 years old and is suffering from AIDS, There is nobody to look after his other daughter who is also suffering from AIDS. The financial condition of the accused is not sound.”
