A Kerala court has sentenced a 80-year man to a cumulative 45 years imprisonment for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl who lived near his shop in this high-range district of the state.
Idukki Fast Track Special Court judge T G Varghese handed down varying sentences to the man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for a total of 45 years, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Shijo Mon Joseph said.
However, as the sentences have to be served concurrently and the highest of the jail terms given to the man was 20 years, he will be serving 20 years in prison, the SPP said. A fine of Rs 60,000 was also imposed on the convict by the court which said that if the amount was recovered from him, it should be given to the victim, the prosecutor said.
The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 50,000 for the rehabilitation of the girl, the prosecutor said. The SPP said that the girl was raped in 2021 when there was no one at her home.
The girl's father had died and her mother had abandoned her. She was being looked after by an elderly couple who were her father's relatives, the prosecutor said.
The convict had a shop near the victim's place of residence and one day on seeing that no one else was at her home, he trespassed into the house and repeatedly raped her, the SPP said.
