A 20-year-old man was sentenced to one year imprisonment by a special POCSO court in Mumbai for molesting a teen girl last year.
Special Judge Bharti Kale, in her order on April 7, the detailed copy of which was made available on Saturday, convicted the man under section 354 (molestation) of the IPC and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for winking and making flying kiss gestures at a 14-year-old girl.
The incident happened on February 29 last year, and a case was lodged at LT Marg police station after the girl told her mother about the ordeal.
The accused had told court he was falsely implicated as he was from a different community and that he had become the victim of a bet between himself and the girl's cousin.
Besides the victim, the court recorded the testimony of her mother and the case investigating officer.
There is no evidence to show the witnesses had any reason to falsely implicate the accused, the court said.
The accused has been in jail since March last year, and hence, the court ordered that his sentence be set off for the period of detention that he has already undergone during investigation and trial.
