Elderly man accused of sexually assaulting two 10-year-olds sentenced to 13 years in prison

Thiruvananthapuram: A 73-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting two ten-year-old children was sentenced to thirteen years of simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹1.5 lakh on Friday. The accused, who was ill and bedridden, was brought to court in an ambulance.

Anju Meera Birla, Judge of the Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court, gave the quantum of sentence. Vijayan (73), of Kunnumparathu Veetil, Mudavanmukal, the accused, did not appear in court due to illness. Therefore, the court ordered that the accused be produced with an ambulance and medical assistance for the pronouncement of the verdict. The judgment includes ten years of simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹1 lakh in one case, and three years and a fine of ₹50,000 in the other case. If the fine is not paid, an additional 1.5 years of imprisonment must be served. The fine amount and compensation from the Legal Services Authority must be paid to the victims.

The incidents occurred during 2021-2022. The accused, who was running a grocery shop in Mudavanmukal, repeatedly sexually assaulted the children who came to buy groceries by touching their private parts. The girls, frightened by the incidents, did not tell their family members. It was only when their family members insisted that they go to the shop again to buy things that the children spoke about it among themselves. That's when it was realised that both of them had been sexually assaulted. Subsequently, the incident was revealed to a relative of one of the children. The accused had filed a case against the father of one child and the uncle of the other child for assaulting him after they learned about the abuse. Although the defence alleged that this case was filed out of animosity for that assault, the court did not consider it.

The father, who was a witness, had testified in court that he assaulted the accused because the accused had sexually assaulted his daughter.

Special Public Prosecutor RS Vijay Mohan appeared for the prosecution. VS Dinaraj, who was the Cantonment Assistant Commissioner, and SI VP Praveen investigated the case. The accused was taken to jail in an ambulance after a medical examination.