Mumbai, Jul 22 A special POCSO court in Mumbai on Wednesday convicted a former school peon and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor student four years ago, relying on the survivor's testimony.
The accused was employed as a peon at a South Mumbai school where the 15-year-old victim was then studying in Class 10.
Special Judge of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court, S V Sahare, convicted the accused after relying on the testimony of the survivor.
The accused was convicted under the IPC for rape and also relevant provisions of the POSCO Act.
"It is well settled that the testimony of a victim of sexual offences does not require corroboration as a matter of course and can be made the basis of conviction, if it inspires confidence," the court noted.
In the present case, the "testimony of the victim is not riddled with contradictions or material improvement or inherent improbabilities", it observed.
The court asserted that there is nothing to disbelieve the victim's testimony and it corroborated with the medical evidence.
As per the prosecution, the girl's sexual harassment began around July 29, 2022, during the school's primary section's Annual Day function.
The accused hugged and kissed the girl student backstage of the function's venue, silencing her by threatening to defame her in front of peers if she reported the incident to anyone. The abuse escalated on August 24, 2022, when the peon forced the victim into a gents staff toilet under the threat of ruining her reputation and stopping her education, the prosecution stated.
The accused then sexually assaulted the minor in the washroom, it said.
As per the prosecution, the matter came to light about a month later when the victim's mother found her crying at home.
Initially the girl claimed she had quarrelled with a friend, but the survivor eventually disclosed about the ordeal after her mother checked her mobile phone and discovered chats with the accused.
The mother immediately approached the school principal and an FIR was registered at the Gamdevi Police Station on the basis of a complaint, leading to the arrest of the accused.
