Thane: Man sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment for raping, impregnating minor

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A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl.

District and additional sessions judge P R Ashturkar found the accused guilty of rape under the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court sentenced the accused to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on him.

The order was passed on October 1 and was made available on Friday.

Additional public prosecutors Ashwini B Patil-Bhamre and Kadambini Khandagale told the court that the accused was a friend of the victim's brother and they were neighbours.

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On the night of January 15, 2015, the accused came to the victim's house when she was alone and raped her. After the first assault, the accused, who was a married man, repeatedly raped the girl on several occasions for a month, they said.

Eventually, the victim's mother found out about the ordeal when the girl became pregnant. A police complaint was soon lodged and the accused was arrested, the prosecution said.

The judge in his order noted that the victim was only 14 years old at the time of incident, and she was so innocent that, she never realised that she had gotten pregnant due to the act committed by the accused.

When her family members noticed the aforesaid facts, it was too late even to terminate the pregnancy. During the trial she had given birth to a child, he said.

The judge also ordered that the victim be paid compensation once the fine amount is realised and also under the Manodhairya Scheme or any other victim compensation scheme of the government.

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