Kerala court sentences elderly man to two life terms for sexual assault of minor girl

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 30 (PTI) A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a 68-year-old man to two life imprisonments for the repeated sexual assault of the minor granddaughter of the woman he was living with.


Fast Track Special Court (POSCO) judge Rekha R sentenced the man to two life terms for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on him, special public prosecutor Vijay Mohan R S said.



According to the prosecution, the man sexually assaulted the then six-year-old girl and her elder sister -- who was nine-years-old -- on various occasions during a one year period from September 2020 to November 2021 at their grandmother's rented homes in Varikkamukku and Murukkumpuzha here.



The court, in its order on sentence, noted that the victim and her elder sister were in an institutional home due to the heinous crime committed against them by the man.



It further said that he "shattered their childhood" and "put them in extreme miseries and deplorable conditions while their mother was abroad".



"Due to the heinous crime committed by the accused, PW1 (victim) and PW2 (elder sister) lost the company of their grandmother. Considering the loathsome acts committed by the accused to PW1 who was in her tender age, age of the accused cannot be considered as a mitigating factor.



"This court is of the firm view that accused should be bound with iron hands of law and maximum punishment should be handed down to deter the potential offenders from committing similar offences and to give a strong message to the society," it said.



The court directed that if the amount was recovered from the convict, it shall be paid as compensation to the victim.



It also said that the life terms shall run concurrently.



The prosecutor said that besides the sexual assaults on the minors, the man had also shown them pornogaphic videos on various days during the same period.



Their mother was abroad during this period, the prosecutor said.


The court will pronounce on November 5 its separate verdict in the case of sexual assault of the elder child by the accused.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)