A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has sentenced a 43-year-old man to ten years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting his daughter for six years since she was a Class 4 student.
The incident came to light in 2014 when the victim was in Class 10 and 16 years of age. The man, who worked on a ship, would come home every alternate month from work and would commit the acts regularly during his stay for around a month. Testifying before the court at the age of 21, the daughter told the court that she did not understand what her father had been doing with her and understood only after sex education was imparted in her school in Class 9. It took her another year to express her ordeal to her mother.
The mother had started noticing that her daughter, the eldest of her children, was quiet and would stay put in her bedroom when her father came home and was more at ease when he is not. She took her into confidence and learnt about the matter. The mother, a homemaker, then filed the complaint against her husband.
After the man was found guilty, his advocate sought leniency for him as he is the father of the victim. The prosecution, on the other hand, told the court that he deserves maximum punishment as he had committed the acts being in a position of trust with the child and had created fear in her mind.
Special POCSO Judge Jayshri R. Pulate said in the judgment, while deciding the quantum of sentence, that considering the acts of the accused committed with the victim, who is his daughter, the sentence would meet the ends of justice.
The court ordered the man to pay a total fine of Rs. 22,000 which would be paid to the victim later. The man, who was on bail, was ordered that be taken into custody immediately.
