Mumbai: A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Thursday sentenced a 29-year-old man, who used to work as a gardener in a housing society in Mulund, to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old child with a mental health disability, who lived in the society.
Special Judge under the POCSO Act SP Ponkshe also imposed a total fine of Rs 35,000 on the man and recommended the case to the District Legal Services Authority for awarding compensation to the child.
Deposing before court, the child, who has learning disability and attention deficit hyperactivity, told that the incident first happened when she was parking her cycle at the parking lot. The man, who used to work as a sweeper and gardener in her society, took her forcibly to the watchman’s toilet and touched her inappropriately. She had run home in fear. The next day too, she said that the incident repeated when she had gone to park her cycle. This time around, he undressed her in the toilet and had forcible intercourse with her.
Special Public Prosecutor Geeta Sharma said that the man had taken her photos in his mobile and also given her a basic mobile handset which was not in working condition, to pacify her. The incident came to light when the child’s mother found the handset in her school bag and asked her about it.
