Thane: Man sentenced to 10 years RI for raping toddler

THANE: A court has sentenced a 49-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a toddler in Maharashtra's Thane district.
Additional sessions judge Kavita D Shirbhate found the accused, a resident of Mumbra, guilty of charges under relevant sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also fined the accused Rs 10,000 for raping the two-and-half-year-old daughter of an acquaintance.
The copy of the order passed on September 4 was made available on Thursday.
According to the prosecution, the victim's family and the accused hailed from the same village and the latter was living with them in Mumbra.
On the night of May 5, 2014, the victim's family left the child and her elder sister in the care of the accused and went shopping. On their return, the family found the toddler lying unconscious and bleeding, while the accused was missing from the house, it was stated.
The victim's parents rushed her to a hospital, where the doctors confirmed that she had been raped, following which a complaint was lodged and the arrest was made.
At least eight witnesses were examined during the course of the trial, it was stated.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)