Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing a minor in Mangaluru

Mangaluru: 31-year-old Sadashiva was found guilty of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment by Additional District and Sessions Judge FTSC-II (Pocso) Maanu KS on Saturday.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Sadashiva. Special Public Prosecutor K. Badrinath Nairy said Sadashiva had contacted the minor relative through Facebook. On August 9, 2022, when no one was at home, Sadashiva came to the house and sexually assaulted her after promising her marriage.

He also sent her objectionable messages on her mobile. On August 10, 2022, he sent a message to the minor seeking forgiveness for touching her. The girl was upset by the message and had drunk diesel, following which a case was registered at Belthangady police station under sections 354, 376 of the IPC, sections 4 and 8 of the Pocso Act and section 67 of the IT Act. The then Belthangady Circle Inspector Shivakumar B led the investigation and filed the chargesheet in the court.

The court examined 14 witnesses and examined 33 documents during the trial. The accused was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment under Section 376 (3) of the IPC and Section 4 (2) of the Pocso Act. He has to serve three years of imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 5,000 under Section 354 of the IPC and Section 8 of the Pocso Act. For the offence under the IT Act, he was sentenced to one year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000.

The court ordered that the fine amount of Rs 50,000 be paid to the survivor. The court also directed the District Legal Services Department to pay a compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh to the victim, Nairy said.