A mahila court in Tiruvallur on Tuesday gave a life sentence to a paedophile on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in Mogappair in 2012.
In January 2012, Manikandan, then 35, ran a shop in Mogappair. A four-year-old girl had come to his shop. He sweet talked the child and took her away by luring her with a chocolate.
“He took her to a dilapidated building and sexually assaulted her. Meanwhile, her parents lodged a complaint and her picture was flashed on the TV channels. The next morning, the public found him loitering around with the child in the Mogappair area and handed him over to the police,” said S. Surendran, J.J. Nagar L&O inspector. Manikandan will have to serve 42 years in prison. This includes a life sentence and different terms for various Sections slapped on him.