The Special Court for the trial of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Coimbatore, on Monday sentenced a man from a village near Pollachi to undergo five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl in 2021.
Special court judge G. Kulasekaran awarded the punishment to P. Perumal, a resident of Ayyappan Nagar at Reddiarur near Arthanaripalayam.
According to the prosecution, Perumal, a mason by occupation, had gone to a waterbody in his locality for fishing on August 20, 2021. The victim girl had come to the area to herd goats and Perumal sexually assaulted her.
The girl’s mother lodged a complaint at the All Women Police Station, Pollachi, and Perumal was arrested for offences under different Sections of the POCSO Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The court, after the completion of the trial, found Perumal guilty and awarded a total of nine years of RI for different offences. The sentences will run concurrently and he will have to undergo five years of RI. The judge also slapped a fine of ₹10,000 on him and ordered that a compensation of ₹2 lakh be paid to the survivor girl by the State government.
