Udupi: Man found guilty of sexually assaulting a child, sentenced to 10-year jail term

Team Udayavani, Oct 27, 2021, 12:42 PM IST

Udupi: A POCSO fast track court here sentenced a sexual offender to 10-years imprisonment for the rape of a 5-year-old.

District Additional and sessions court judge Yermal Kalpana found that evidence presented before the court was sufficient to establish the crime.

The court found the accused, Venkatesh (30) guilty as charged and sentenced him to ten years of rigorous imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000. A sum of Rs 15,000 has been ordered to be disbursed to the victim. The court also directed the state government to sanction a compensation of Rs 75,000 to the victim.

The offense took place in 2018 within the Karkala rural police station limits. Venkatesh, who was the neighbor of the victim, had sexually assaulted the child when she visited his house. The incident came to light as she fell sick and she was taken to a hospital in Karkala and then to Manipal for treatment. On the way to Manipal hospital, the girl narrated the ordeal to her parents, who then registered a complaint at the Karkala police station.

Acting on the complaint, Karkala police circle inspector Joy Antony carried out further investigations and filed a charge sheet against Venkatesh, based on the evidence collected.

Judge of the district additional and sessions court which also is the fast track court for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, sentenced an accused to ten years jail term. Judge of the court, Yermal Kalpana, who found that the charge of sexual atrocity committed by the accused on a five-year-old girl who had been to neighbouring house to play, has been proved, awarded the above sentence.

Special pubic prosecutor, Y T Raghavendra, had pleaded the case on behalf of the prosecution.

The court examined 12 witnesses out of 19 listed. The medical records and other evidence presented corroborated the prosecution’s arguments, the court held.