India News | Court sentences man to life imprisonment for raping and breaking teeth of five-year-old

New Delhi (India), July 18 (ANI): A Delhi court recently sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a 5-year-old minor and breaking two of her teeth with his punch on the day of Bhai Dooj. The case relates to an FIR registered at a North West district police station in 2019. The court said that sexual abuse of children is a crime against humanity and society.

The court stated that the psychological scars of childhood sexual abuse are indelible and haunt victims forever, hindering their physical and psychological development.

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When announcing the verdict, the court referred to the statements of psychologist and author Renee Fredrickson on the subject of repressed memories.

“In sexual abuse, children feel and process the anger, pain, shame and sense of perversion projected by the perpetrator. They absorb these feelings deeply and are severely traumatized by the emotions that accompany the assault as well as by the assault itself,” the court quoted Fredrickson as saying.

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Additional Sessions Judge (POCSO) Sushil Bala Dagar of Rohini Court sentenced the convict to life imprisonment for the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO. The convict was additionally sentenced to seven years imprisonment for kidnapping and causing grievous bodily harm.

The court also imposed a total fine of Rs 50,000 in all three sections.

The court said that by imposing a punishment that is proportionate to the act of sexual assault or sexual harassment, a clear message must be conveyed to the society at large that anyone who violates the POCSO Act will be held accountable for their actions.

“The cases of sexual assault on children are examples of perverted lust for sex where even innocent children are not spared in search of sexual gratification. Children are the most valuable human resources and the future of our nation,” the POCSO judge said in the order issued on July 11.

She further said, “The hope for India’s future lies with children, but it is a great misfortune that children, including minor girls and boys, are in a highly vulnerable situation.”

“Individuals like the convicted person use various methods to exploit children, including sexual assault and sexual abuse. Such exploitation through sexual abuse of children is a crime against humanity and society. Every child, whether rural or urban, rich or poor, deserves special care and protection and the fundamental right of the child not to be exploited despite being alone is of paramount importance. It is the duty of the courts, the police as well as the general public to provide adequate legal protection to every child.”

The court pointed out that in a patriarchal society like ours, everyone is quick to blame the child in such an incident of sexual assault. A child who is subjected to sexual abuse needs to be protected even more so that no one abuses him psychologically.

The court also held society responsible, stating that it is the responsibility of society as a whole to care for its children and protect them from physical and psychological exploitation by sex offenders.

“This court expresses its dismay and anguish at the increasing number of crimes against children. The five-year-old girl, who was going to her maternal grandparents’ house for the Bhai Dooj festival, was supposed to have a joyful time but was treated with animalistic passion by the convict. Her dignity and the purity of her body were destroyed. The plight of the child and the shock suffered by her and her family members can well be imagined. The agony of the child can destroy the composure and self-control of any civilized person,” the court said.

The statement that the child is a gift to society seems absurd in the face of a person such as the convicted man. The victim child had to endure such torture at the hands of the convicted man through no fault of her own, it was said.

It continued: “For the convicted person, the sexual offence may be a one-off act, but this act has serious consequences for the life of an innocent child.”

“Therefore, the punishment imposed on the convicted person should be proportionate to the gravity of the heinous act so that it serves as an effective deterrent to like-minded persons. However, the mitigating circumstances must not be ignored while determining the sentence,” the judge said in the order.

The convict’s lawyer stated that he is about 28 years old. He is unmarried. He is illiterate and before his imprisonment he was doing hard labour earning Rs 9,000 a month. The convict has parents, three unmarried brothers and three unmarried sisters. The convict is the eldest and supported his parents by working as a labourer.

The Additional Public Prosecutor for the State, assisted by counsel for DCW, however, was of the view that the convict should be given the maximum sentence to deter like-minded people in the society from committing such heinous and despicable offences.

It was also submitted that the convict was convicted for the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and the offence under Section 363/325/376(2)(j)/376AB IPC which he committed against the victim who was a child aged only five years. The convict committed aggravated offence of penetrative sexual assault on the victim child ‘K’ after abducting the victim child ‘K’ when she was on her way to the toilet.

The convicted man grabbed her and led her away. He punched the victim, broke two of the victim’s front teeth and bit her left cheek. The scar from the bite is still visible on the face of the victim, who appeared today with his father, APP further reported.

She argued that the convict did not deserve any sympathy for his heinous and reprehensible act. She demanded that the child victim be awarded maximum compensation under the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme 2018.

It was further alleged that the minor victim had suffered great humiliation as a result of the act committed by the convicted person and was currently about 10 years old.

The facts of the present case are that on 29.10.2019, the victim’s mother along with the victim and other family members visited her house for Bhai Dooj festival. At around 6.00 pm, they were having their meal when her daughter K told her that she had to go to the toilet.

The victim had gone to the toilet near the house where the convict grabbed her and lifted her up. The convict abducted the victim, a child “K”, a minor girl around 5 years of age, to sexually abuse her. The convict beat her, bit her left cheek with his teeth, punched her and caused her two front teeth to be broken.

The court awarded the victim a compensation of Rs 105,000. (ANI)

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