Thiruvananthapuram, March 5 A Kerala court has sentenced a 65-year-old man to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy in April last year.
Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court judge Anju Meera Birla said that there was no need to show any undue leniency to the accused, as he had already been sentenced to seven years in prison in the past for sexually assaulting a woman with a mental disability.
"The act of rape itself is shocking to society. But in this case, it involves a minor. This can be understood to have far-reaching consequences. The repeated actions of the accused cannot be taken lightly, and the argument that a minimum punishment should be imposed on the accused cannot be accepted."
"This would be doing a disservice to society and sending the wrong message to the public in general. Given the repeated offence, there is no reason to show any undue leniency to the accused," the court said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the convict, special public prosecutor R S Vijay Mohan said.
According to the prosecution, on the evening of April 8, 2025, while the minor boy was going to the temple, the accused called him closer under the pretext of giving a handshake.
When the boy extended his hand, the accused forcefully pulled him onto his lap and grabbed his private parts, and also invited him to go to a nearby road with sexual undertones, the prosecutor said.
