Man sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape of minor in Mumbai

Indian Express

a day ago

Convicting a 50-year-old man on charges of rape, a special court said there is no question of consent when the victim was a minor and he a father of four children. The man was sentenced to 20 years in jail for repeated sexual assault of the girl, who was 16 years during the first incident.
The victim and her family lived in the accused's home as tenants and her mother worked in a factory unit run by him.
'This itself is sufficient to hold that the accused was in a position not only to influence the victim by praising her beauty and expressing his liking and affection towards her, though she time and again went on convincing him that she is a minor to get married to him. He went on giving promises to the victim to perform marriage with her after she turns 18 years of age though the accused is already married and have four children. Therefore, performing second marriage with the victim does not arise,' special judge S N Sachdeo said in the order on August 7, which was made available this week.
The accused was found guilty on charges including sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and charges of rape and kidnapping of the Indian Penal Code.
The assault came to light in 2023 when the victim's mother could not find her and she filed a missing complaint.
Based on call data records of the victim's phone number, the accused was traced and she was found with him. The victim told the police that she was lured by the accused, that he frequently complimented her and took her out to places like Juhu beach. The victim had told court that she was intoxicated by the accused and sexually assaulted several times over two years. He also told her that he will marry her once she's 18 and had put sindoor and mangalsutra on her to show he was serious.
'…the present case is not casual case or regular case about adolescent love for the simple reason that the age of the accused is 48 years, having a wife and four children. Moreover, it is the accused who has initiated an affair with the victim though she is a minor girl and though the accused had knowledge of the same and his marriage is intact. The victim at the time of occurrence of offence was a minor girl, that too of 15-and-a-half years old. Therefore, having physical relationship with the victim in this age is nothing but plain deception of the said victim girl, taking advantage of her young age and feelings,' the court said.
It also relied on medical evidence to convict the accused. While he had claimed that he was falsely implicated, the court said that there was no proof given by the accused to show that he had not committed the crime.