Berhampur: A special POCSO court in Berhampur on Wednesday sentenced a 28-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl nearly four years ago.
Additional District-cum-Special POCSO Court Judge Pranati Pattnaik also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict. In the event of non-payment of the fine, he will face an additional six months in jail, the TOI reported, quoting Special Public Prosecutor Narayan Panda.
The court further ordered the district
legal services authorities to provide Rs 3 lakh in compensation to the survivor. The entire fine amount, once recovered from the convict, will also be paid to her.
The judgment was delivered after examining the statements of 12 witnesses, including police personnel and a medical officer, along with medical reports and seized evidence.
On May 30, 2022, the accused allegedly lured the minor girl from her house with false promises and took her away. When she failed to return, her family launched a search. On June 1, the man contacted the girl’s mother over the phone, claiming he had taken the girl to Bhubaneswar. The girl’s mother filed a complaint with police the same day. Police registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, arrested the accused on June 6 and also rescued the girl.
The convict had been out on bail since August 28, 2023, the report added.