Man sentenced to 5 years in prison for sexually abusing his 9-year-old neighbor |

Mumbai: A special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) last week sentenced a 42-year-old man to five years in prison for inappropriately touching his nine-year-old neighbour in 2017. It reiterated that cases of sexual abuse can make parents feel that their children are not safe even in their neighbourhood.
Special Judge Priya P Bankar also could not accept that the 20-day delay in reporting the case to the police was fatal to the prosecution. She said: “Many cases are not reported to the police only because the reputation of the family and the future of the girl are at stake. The delay is not always fatal to the prosecution.”
“The incident occurred with the nine-year-old girl when her parents were out for work. She knows the accused and regularly visited him to play with his children. The cases of child sexual abuse show the inhuman attitude of the accused. The incident had a very negative impact on the girl, her family members and even on the society,” the judge added.
The accused was also fined Rs 20,000, of which Rs 15,000 is to be given to the survivor as compensation. “Such an incident is sure to instill fear and terror in people and leaves the victims scarred for a long time. This aspect also needs to be taken into consideration,” the judge said. She added that if the compensation cannot be paid from the fine, the District Legal Services Authority should pay compensation to the survivor under the Victims Compensation Scheme.
Among the witnesses cited by Special Public Prosecutor Veena Shelar for the conviction was the girl. Although the incident took place on October 29, 2017, the parents reported the incident on November 29, 2017. After the incident, the girl confided in her parents, who then confronted the accused. Since he apologized, they did not report the incident to the police, but when he later argued with them, they filed a complaint.
The judge rejected the accused's defence that the delay was fatal to the prosecution. “In this regard, the age of the victim, the accused's relationship with the victim's family and also the financial background of the victim's parents must be taken into account. As for the reason given regarding the victim's reputation, the incident occurred with the 9-year-old girl and the parents were concerned about their reputation and obviously the child's future. Therefore, they accepted the accused's apology and preferred not to file a police report,” the judge said.