Puri: The Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pipili here on Saturday convicted and sentenced a man to 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a four-year-old girl in 2017. The court also ordered a fine of Rs 10,000, which if not paid, the convict has to undergo another two months RI, said Additional Public Prosecutor (Puri), Satya Narayan Tripathy.
“Considering the facts of the case and testimony of nine witnesses, the First Additional Sessions Judge (Puri) pronounced a historic verdict. He was arrested by Pipili police and booked under Section 376 (2) (one who commits rape on a woman when she is under twelve years of age) of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act,” Tripathy said.
Under Section 6 (Sexual Assault) of the POCSO Act, whoever commits sexual assault, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a minimum term of 10 years. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 came into force with effect from 14th November 2012.
According to the Public Prosecutor, the convict in this case had lured a four-year-old girl to an abandoned area near a temple and raped her, on April 22, 2017. Later, the Pipili police registered an FIR based on the complaint of the survivor’s father and arrested the accused.
