60-year-old man sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping and impregnating a minor

New Delhi: A 60-year-old man was given a 12-year jail term by the Rohini court for raping and impregnating a child in 2018. On January 16, the court additionally fined the convicted party Rs 5 lakh, which would be compensated to the victim.

Special Judge (POCSO) Sushil Bala Dagar said during the sentence of the accused that “Children are becoming victims of sexual offenses committed by their family members, relatives, neighbors, teachers, acquaintances, etc. Despite their youth, both boys and girls are mistreated.

“Everyone is ready to blame the victim kid for illicit sexual encounters when the perpetrator engages in penetrative sexual assault in our patriarchal culture. Instead, in an order issued on January 16, the court said that the offender should bear full responsibility since he is accountable for the horrible act involving the victim kid despite being a neighbor.

The special court said in the ruling that “the sexual offense may be a singular act for the convicted party, but the said act profoundly affects the life of an innocent child.”

According to the court, society as a whole has the obligation of caring for children and shielding them from the sexual abusers’ exploitation of their bodies and minds. The future of civilization lies with today’s youngsters. For society to be healthy, developed, and dynamic, the interests of children who are at risk must be safeguarded.

According to the court, the convicted party in this instance faces punishment under section 6 of the POCSO Act and section 376(2)(i) of the IPC for penetrating the victim with sexual assault.

With the help of the DCW Counsel, Additional Public Prosecutor Yogita Kaushik has argued that the maximum sentence should be given to the convicted in order to discourage similar individuals from conducting such horrific and vile crimes.

She argued that the accused had been found guilty of the offense against the victim, a young girl who was about 14 years and 7 months old, under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 376(2)(i) of the Indian Penal Code (as it existed before the amendment dated April 21, 2018).

After giving delivery, the victim kid placed the newborn in a polypack and abandoned it on the street, where a bystander discovered it. She argues that although the convict had won the victim child over at the time of her deposition, the medical records, the FSL results, and the prosecution’s full version demonstrate that the convict had influenced the victim child because he was already providing financial support to the victim child’s family, Kaushik said.

She said that it is clear that the victim endured suffering, adversity, disappointment, and inconvenience, including emotional injury, anxiety, and sadness, for which she must get payment.