Sexual assault: 70-year-old man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl | News from Pune

Pune: The Court Special Judge KP Kshirsagar sentenced a 70-year-old retired government employee to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for sexually abusing a seven-year-old schoolgirl at a construction site on October 31, 2019.
The court found: “The victim, who was in second grade at the time, is not a trained witness as she gave reasonable answers to the questions put to her. She is intelligent and understands the obligation to swear an oath. Her testimony is reliable and trustworthy and is consistent with the testimony of other witnesses.”

The prosecution alleges that the defendant was walking a dog when he tricked the victim into accompanying him and then sexually assaulted her.
The court sentenced the elderly man to five years in prison for kidnapping, three years for sexual harassment and a further five years for serious sexual abuse. All these charges are being filed concurrently. The court did not impose any separate punishment for the rape under Section 42 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and directed the Pune District Bar Authority to pay compensation to the victim.
Judge Kshirsagar said in his September 5 verdict: “The circumstances on hand show that the victim, her family and the prosecution witnesses have no motive to incriminate the elderly woman. The testimony of the witnesses is impeccable and leaves no room for doubt. The motive of the accused was to obtain pleasure by sexually abusing the victim.”
“The victim had immediately informed the incident to her mother and the complaint was immediately filed with the Vishrantwadi police. The medical officer concluded that it was a case of sexual assault. The prosecution's evidence inspires confidence and can be accepted under the test of reason. The presence of the accused and the incident are proved by the direct statements of the witnesses,” the judge said, adding that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Special Public Prosecutor Nitin Konghe had examined ten witnesses, including the victim and her mother, to prove the accused's guilt. The prosecution had asked for the maximum punishment to be imposed on the accused as he was involved in a heinous crime.

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