Man gets 20-year jail for sexually assaulting minor boy in Mumbai; court says victim will endure trauma for long

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A special court in Mumbai has sentenced a 26-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting minor boy in Mumbai, observing the victim may not live a normal life due to the trauma caused by the incident, reported news agency PTI.

Special Judge Priya Bankar on April 6 convicted the man under the IPC section related to unnatural sex as well provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for the crime which took place in Mumbai in 2020.

"The act (sexual assault) which has taken place with the victim, will leave scars in his mind for a longer period," noted the court in its order made available on Wednesday, reported PTI.

"It will also cause mental trauma during his future life and his life will be affected. He may not be in a position to live a normal life due to the trauma caused because of the incident," the special judge observed, reported PTI.

During the trial, the accused, while countering charges against him, pointed out that a coronavirus-induced lockdown was in place at the time of sexually assaulting minor boy in Mumbai and people were not allowed to step out of their homes.

As per the prosecution, the victim, an eight-year-old boy, was playing near his house when the accused, a resident of Mumbai, approached him and called him to a temple in the area for playing. The accused also offered to give money to the boy.

As the boy entered the temple premises, the man accused sexually assaulted him and warned him of dire consequences if he revealed about the incident to anyone, said the prosecution.

When the boy's parents came to know about the ordeal suffered by their son, they reported the matter to the local police station and a case was registered against the accused on July 22, 2020, reported PTI.

During the trial, the prosecution examined six witnesses and also relied on medical evidence.

The accused had disputed the testimony of a prosecution witness on the ground that there was lockdown due to COVID-19 when the crime took place and therefore, people were not allowed to go out of their homes.

However, the court held there was no reason to disbelieve the evidence on the ground that due to lockdown, there was no possibility of such an incident taking place, reported PTI.

Though there was a lockdown at that time, it was not a complete shutdown and people were allowed to go out of their houses, the court noted, reported PTI.

The judge said from the evidence on record, there was absolutely no reason to disbelieve the testimony of prosecution witnesses about the unnatural sex committed by the accused.

(With inputs from PTI)