Thug who sexually abused 10-year-old boy gets 20 years in prison | Mumbai News

A 25-year-old local thug, who sexually abused a 10-year-old boy and then threatened to kill the child’s mother when confronted, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment by a special POCSO court on Friday. The accused, against whom a criminal case was registered, took the child to an abandoned building but due to his reputation, no one had the courage to stop him. The child’s mother filed a complaint despite the threats.

“The accused has committed a heinous crime against a small child. If such crimes were punished leniently, no child would be safe in society,” said Special Judge Chhaya V Patil.

The witnesses cited by Special Public Prosecutor Jyoti Sawant for the conviction of the accused included the victim, his mother, a doctor and police officers involved in the investigation. The incident took place on April 26, 2021.

The victim said that while she was buying ice cream, she heard the other children shouting that the accused had arrived and everyone should run away. However, before she could understand what was happening, she was caught by the accused. The accused sexually abused the child after forcing her to run an errand for him. He offered the child Rs 20 and took her to a dilapidated building. The crying child then ran to her mother and confided in her. However, after the accused threatened the mother, following which the crowd fled the scene, she filed a complaint with the police.

The judge rejected the accused’s argument that the investigating officer did not record the statements of witnesses other than the mother and the boy, despite claims that people gathered there when he was crying. The judge noted that the accused admitted his criminal past in his closing statement. “The witnesses (victim and mother) said that the accused is a criminal menace in the area. Hence, no one has dared to file a complaint against him. This fact confirms the accused’s answer in 313 (closing) statement regarding criminal past and hence, independent witnesses, though they might have seen the incident, could not come forward to file a complaint against the accused,” the judge said.

The accused also claimed that he was falsely accused because he did not run away from the crime scene. However, the judge reiterated that the accused had threatened the victim and his family. “The accused dares to pose a criminal threat and then can stay there even after committing such incidents. Therefore, this fact is also not the crux of the case. The prosecution has proved from the statements of the victim and mother as well as the statements of the medical officer during cross-examination of the accused that the accused sexually abused the victim,” the judge said.

The judge said there was no reason for the mother and the victim to falsely incriminate the accused and make such allegations which would jeopardise the reputation of their family. The accused was also sentenced to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 which, if paid, will be given to the victim as compensation.