A special court here has sentenced an octogenarian couple to ten years of rigorous imprisonment in a 2013 case of sexually assaulting a four- year-old girl, who lived in their neighbourhood in Mumbai's Girgaon. The court convicted the couple under section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Thursday and awarded the sentence. The special POCSO court, presided over by judge Rekha Pandhare, also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the couple.
According to the prosecution, the incident had occurred eight years ago after the couple called the minor to their residence and committed the crime. The court relied on the testimony of the victim and her mother and the oral evidences were supported by the girl's medical report, the prosecution said. The court observed that the accused being of the girl's grandparents' age, were supposed to take care of her and not sexually assault her.
