Kerala court sentences man to 20 years in jail for rape of minor girl

A court here on Tuesday sentenced a man to serve 20 years in prison for raping a 14-year-old girl last year in Ottapalam area of Palakkad district.

Fast Track Special Court judge Satish Kumar handed down the sentence to the 22-year-old man for the offence of repeated aggravated penetrative sexual assault of the minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act.

The court also sentenced him to three years and one year for the offences of sexual assault under the POCSO Act and house-trespass under the IPC, respectively, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the Pattambi POCSO court, Nisha Vijayakumar, said.

It also imposed a total fine of Rs 1.75 lakh on the convict, the SPP said.

The crime was committed at the residence of the minor girl when she was alone at home.

From the arrest of the accused to his sentencing took barely a year, the SPP, who was assisted by advocate Divyalakshmi, said.

Around 22 documents were placed before the court by the Ottapalam police team, led by CI Baburaj and SI Siva Sankaran, and 20 witnesses were examined, the SPP said.