Man gets 10 years in prison for sexually abusing 13-year-old girl | Mumbai News

Special Judge Priya P Bankar said, “The child sexual abuse cases show the inhumane attitude of the accused. The children are easy prey due to their tender age, physical vulnerability and inexperience with life and society.”

The incident took place in August 2016 when the accused entered the girl's house while she was sleeping with her elder sister. Her parents left the house to take their youngest daughter to school and then went to their respective jobs. During this time, the accused neighbor entered their house, dragged the sleeping minor from the sofa and sexually abused her.

Awakened by the victim's screams, her sister immediately called the accused, who ran away. The older sister called her grandmother, who then informed her parents about the incident.

The defense claimed that the victim's elder sister made up a false story to incriminate him after he found out about their love affair and threatened to inform her parents. The victim's mother, however, said the accused made up a false story and denied any insinuation regarding the involvement of her elder daughter's boyfriend.

After hearing both sides, the court found that the accused knew that the victim's parents had left the house at 7 am and the sisters were alone in the house. It found that there is enough evidence on record to support the charge of sexual assault and penetrative sexual assault of the minor victim. Furthermore, the court found that the accused committed the act in full knowledge that the girl belonged to a particular caste.

The court observed that the incident would have a negative impact on the victim, her family members and the society. “The incident will affect the mental health and future of the minor victim and she will not be able to forget it. Such an incident instills fear and terror in people and leaves scars on the victims for a long time,” the judge observed.