Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping minor girl | Thane News

THANE: The Thane court has sentenced a 56-year-old man from Ahmednagar to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 2017.

Public prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale told the court that the victim’s mother had abandoned her when the girl was just 10 years old. Her father, who worked as a cook in a hospital, lived with her in a rented chawl. In 2017, the victim’s paternal foster uncle came to visit and subsequently lived with them for some time before the unfortunate incident took place.

On one occasion in September 2017, when the victim’s father was heavily drunk and asleep, the convicted man took advantage of the opportunity and molested the girl, initially while she was sleeping, without knowing about his advances. The victim was sexually abused several times, and when she resisted, the perpetrator threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the abuse.

Eventually, the incident was reported to the police, which led to the arrest and trial of the accused. The prosecution presented a total of eight witnesses who testified in court.

After considering the arguments of both sides, the judge acknowledged that although the accused came from a poor background and was already past middle age, the crime he was charged with was extremely heinous and reprehensible since he had committed this cruel act with a girl under the age of 16 who considered him to be her “mama” (maternal uncle).

The judge stressed that the accused had shown complete disregard for the sacred relationship between a maternal foster uncle and his niece. Such behaviour within family relationships is clearly unacceptable and deserves strict condemnation and punishment to send a strong message to society and serve as a deterrent to persons with similar intentions, the judge noted in the order.