Kasaragod: A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to 189 years in prison for sexually assaulting two minor boys and their minor sister over three years in Kasaragod on Friday.
The convict is the son of the siblings' father's sister and resides in Balal grama panchayat.
Hosdurg Fast Track Special Court Judge C Suresh found the man guilty of 21 charges of sexual assault, kidnapping, and threatening, said public prosecutor A Gangadharan. The convict would serve only 20 years in prison because the sentences would run concurrently, he said.
The crime came to light after a neighbour found the man's behaviour around the children fishy and he informed their school teacher. The teacher called in a counsellor from the Childline, said Gangadharan. The boys opened up to the counsellor but the girl did not. But when the police came, she shared her ordeal with the lady officer and the police registered three cases against the man under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code.
The cousin was sentenced to 74 years of imprisonment and fined Rs 1.45 lakh for sexually assaulting the girl, aged 7 years, in 2019.
The girl was assaulted in his house, nearby forest, and at the pump house of the community drinking water project.
The cousin was found guilty of repeated penetrative sexual assault of a girl under 12 years of age under Section 5 (l), (m), and (n) and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years each and fined Rs 40,000 each under Section 6 of POCSO Act. If the fine is not paid, he will have to serve an extra three months, each.
The court also found him guilty of kidnapping and sentenced him to three years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 under Section 363 of IPC. If the fine is not paid, he will have to serve one month in prison.
He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 20,000 for trafficking a minor under Section 370 (4) of IPC. If the fine is not paid, he will have to serve another three months in prison.
He was sentenced to one year of imprisonment for criminal intimidation. The judge said that the sentences of imprisonment in the event of not paying the fine would run consecutively, but the substantive sentences would run concurrently.
The court found the cousin guilty of 10 charges of sexual assault of the girl's nine-year-old boy in 2019. It sentenced him to a total of 96 years in prison and slapped a fine of Rs 2.15 lakh.
The cousin was sentenced to another 19 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl's 14-year-old brother in 2022. He took the boy home on his scooter and assaulted him, said the prosecutor.
Since the sentences would run concurrently, he would have to serve only 20 years.
The then sub-inspector of Vellarikundu police station Vijayakumar arrested the cousin, investigated the case, and submitted the charge sheet.