20-Year Jail Term For Football Coach Who Molested Teenaged Player

Ajmer: A football coach has been sentenced to 20 years in jail and fined Rs 60,000 for molesting a teenaged female player in 2019.

The sexual abuse took place in 2019 in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, but came to light in May 2021, after the girl reported the matter to her school authorities in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasol.

She mustered the courage to speak out two years after the incident after being inspired by Justice Bhalla’s address during a webinar on May 1, 2021.

The girl, who was 15 at the time of the crime, revealed in her statement that she was molested by her coach when she was participating in an under-16 tournament in Ajmer. She claimed that the entire team was asked to wait in a park while her coach called her into a room and molested her.

The school authorities immediately informed Kasol police and filed a complaint against the coach.

A written complaint was forwarded to police, following which the case was heard in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Ajmer.

After hearing both parties and others, the POCSO court pronounced the sentenced of 20-year imprisonment and fine of Rs 60,000.

The court also ordered a compensation of Rs 6 lakh to be awarded to the girl under the Victim Compensation Scheme.