66-year-old Kerala man gets 81 yrs in jail for raping minor

A fast-track court in Kerala’s Idukki district on Tuesday sentenced a 66-year-old man to 81 years in jail for raping and impregnating a 15 -year-old girl two years ago.

Delivering the verdict, Pocso (protection of children from sexual offences) court judge TG Varghese observed that the convict did not deserve any leniency.

The judge imposed a sentence of 20 years on the convict for each of the offences of penetrative sexual assault and repeated rape of the minor girl, 30 years for impregnating her and five years for aggravated sexual assault of a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also given a five years’ jail term for the offence of kidnapping a woman to induce her to illicit intercourse and one year for molestation under the IPC. It also imposed a fine of ₹2.50 lakh on the convict and directed legal services authority to provide all help to the victim.

The court, while delivering the verdict, said the offences committed by the convict will leave “an everlasting, continuing, physical, emotional and traumatic impact on the future of PW2 (minor victim)”.

“Considering the fact that the victim is a minor and the accused is an aged man, even some leniency does not deserve to be shown. One of the objects of the Pocso Act is to ensure deterrent punishment to offenders considering the nature of the proved offences,” said the court.

As the sentences have to be served by the convict concurrently, he would be serving the highest jail term of 30 years imposed on him for impregnating the girl, special public prosecutor SS Saneesh said.

Legal experts said this is one of the longest sentences in a Pocso case in recent past.

Saneesh said the case came to light in October 2020 after the girl developed stomach pain and admitted to a hospital by her parents. She was found to be pregnant.

Later her pregnancy was medically terminated with the permission of the high court. Besides the girl’s statement, medical test on the terminated foetus and DNA test also established beyond any doubt about the role of the convict, said the prosecutor.

Saneesh said the man was sentenced under four sections of the Pocso act including rape, physical assault, criminal intimidation and threat.

The convict, also her neighbour, took advantage of the poor financial condition of her parents who were daily wage labourers and exploited the minor and threatened her not to reveal it to anyone.

The prosecution said she had to undergo the trauma for seven years and sought maximum punishment to the offender. The court agreed to the contention of the prosecution and awarded 81 years’ jail term to the man.