Sexual assault: Compounder sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing 12-year-old boy | Mumbai News

Mumbai: Observing that such a heinous act has lifelong psychological and emotional impact on the child, a special court in India’s Pocso state on Wednesday convicted a 48-year-old mixed race man at a local general practice for repeatedly having anal intercourse with a 12-year-old boy and threatening to kill him over a period of 16 months between August 2019 and December 2020.

“The accused abused the child at a tender age and left permanent scars for life,” said special judge SC Jadhav. The accused was also fined Rs 28,000. The judge said if the accused pays the fine of Rs 25,000, it will be paid to the victim. “The incident has had a negative impact on the mind and soul of the victim. No amount of compensation can be adequate nor can it provide any relief to the victim. The humiliation or the shattered reputation cannot be undone but financial compensation will at least provide some solace. Therefore, he must be given compensation,” the judge said.

Special Public Prosecutor Kalpana Hire quoted the statements of eleven witnesses, including the victim, his mother and his aunt.

The matter came to light in January 2021 when the child’s aunt noticed that the accused was sending pornographic clips to his mobile phone. The child then confided in his mother and aunt about the sexual assault. Two months before the matter came to light, the child was bleeding from his private parts. However, the doctor who examined the child blamed it on his food and asked the family to take him to the government hospital.

The boy, who was 16 years old when he testified in court, said that the defendant took him to the mezzanine floor of the clinic every time he wanted to buy snacks from the shop next door. The incident occurred when the clinic was closed in the afternoon.

The judge said the victim’s testimony was credible. “The accused has not produced any solid evidence to support his defence that the victim’s mother demanded money from him and he refused to pay it to her. Moreover, when the informant came for the blood test, he did not give any discount on the test cost and therefore she made a false accusation… No such insinuations were made to the witnesses during cross-examination. There is no reason to disbelieve the victim’s testimony,” the judge said.