Idukki (Kerala), February 27 A 25-year-old man has been sentenced by a Kerala court to a cumulative 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at a theatre in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, in 2022, after luring her there with the promise of a job.
Idukki Painav Fast Track Court Judge Nobel D S sentenced Muhammad Riyas, who is from Tiruppur, to a total of 30 years under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, as well as imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh, special public prosecutor (SPP) Shijomon Joseph said.
The SPP stated that the convict will only have to serve 15 years in prison, as this was the maximum sentence given to him, and all sentences must be served concurrently.
The court also recommended that the District Legal Service Authority provide adequate compensation to the girl, who lives near Marayoor here.
Riyas and the girl communicated over the phone and started talking regularly, the prosecutor said, adding that Riyas lured her to Tiruppur with the promise of a job.
When she reached there by bus, he took her to a theatre which had few customers, and sexually assaulted her there, the SPP said.
Following a missing person complaint by the girl's father, she was traced to Tiruppur, and both of them, including the accused, were brought to Kerala, the prosecutor said.
It was during the recording of her statement that the crime was revealed, he said.
The court examined 35 witnesses and reviewed 41 documents to find Riyas guilty of sexually assaulting the girl, the prosecutor said.