Delhi court sends man to 20-year jail for raping minor

A Delhi court has sentenced a man, who ferried a minor girl to school and back home, to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for repeatedly raping her in 2018 and observed that he had betrayed the trust of the minor survivor's family.

Additional Sessions Judge Balwinder Singh was hearing arguments on sentencing against the 44-year-old driver, who was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court underlined that he did not deserve sympathy or leniency as he had "breached social values and morals".

In a verdict dated October 19, the court observed, "The victim in the instant case is a minor child, who was only about 3.5-years of age when the offences in question were committed between August, 2018, and October 23, 2018, and at the time, the convict, a married man, had sufficient maturity of understanding the nature and consequences of his act."

The court further observed that despite his age, the man did not hesitate to commit the "heinous offence" on the minor, whose family had entrusted him with the child's custody to school and back.

"The convict has exploited her (survivor's) innocence and vulnerability. She was barely a child of 3.5 years of age, however, instead of showing any love, affection and protection to the victim, the convict, on the contrary, made her a victim of lust," it noted.

The court found it a "clear case" of betrayal.

Apart from POCSO law, the man was convicted under Section 376 AB of the IPC.

In addition to the 20-year RI, the court imposed Rs 50,000 fine on him and awarded Rs 1.2 lakh compensation to the minor survivor.