A special court in Maharashtra's Thane on Tuesday sentenced a 39-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a six-year-old girl in 2019.
Special court judge D S Deshmukh, hearing cases pertaining to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, held Ritesh Pasco Koli from Uttan village in Bhayandar guilty and pronounced the verdict.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him.
Special public prosecutor Vivek Kadu told the court that the incident occurred at around 9.30 am on January 25, 2019. The victim was the neighbour of the accused. He lured the minor girl, who was playing outside her house, by offering her an ice cream. He took her to his house and committed the crime.
On returning home, the victim recounted the incident to her mother. Her medical check-up confirmed that she had been raped.
In its order, the judge concluded that the prosecution proved all charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubts.
