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OBSERVING THAT a nine-year-old child is not expected to remember all details including the date of her sexual assault, a special court recently convicted a 29-year-old man of sexually assaulting the minor girl and sentenced him to 10 years in jail.
The man, who happened to be the girl’s relative, would visit her home to have lunch.
He would ask her to fetch a mobile charger on the upper floor of the house, following which he sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions.
The prosecution submitted after the sexually assaulting the girl, the man would ask her not to reveal about it to anyone.
The incident came to light when the victim complained of pain in her private parts, after which her mother inquired from her and found out about the assault by the relative and subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.
In his defense, the accused said he was falsely implicated due to a quarrel between the victim’s family and him.
The man said that while the complaint stated that one episode of sexual assault had taken place on June 2, 2016, the victim, who was aged seven then, was not at home as she had gone for her summer vacations.
“It is pertinent to note here that at the time of recording evidence, the victim was a girl of nine years. It is not expected nor possible for a girl of nine years to remember all the details,”the court observed.
“It is also pertinent to point out here that it is not the case that the alleged incident occurred only on June 2, 2016. According to the prosecution, the alleged incidents occurred from June 2 to August 29, 2016. Therefore, the submission that the alleged incident can never take place on June 2, 2016, is devoid of merit,” said the special court.
The court also said that though the victim had not stated specific dates, her testimony cannot be rejected. The court also considered medical evidence and the testimony of the girl.
The court said that even though she was nine at the time of her deposition, she was subjected to severe cross-examination by the accused’s lawyer, running into 16 pages. “However, the victim stoutly denied the suggestions put to her that no such incident occurred,” the court said.
The court found the accused guilty under Section 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant provisions of the POCSO Act and sentenced him to jail for 10 years.
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