Ghaziabad: A special Pocso court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000, pronouncing him guilty of raping his minor stepdaughter.While declaring the quantum of the sentence for the offence under Section 5(i)/6 Pocso Act for causing aggravated penetrative sexual assault of a minor, additional sessions judge Neeraj Gautam ordered the entire sum of the fine be given to the minor for her rehabilitation.The matter is linked to an FIR registered at Crossings Republik police station on the basis of a written complaint filed by the girl’s mother. The woman said that she had two children from her former husband: a 10-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy. She left her husband and married the accused in a temple and started living with him in a rented house. On Feb 13, 2023, when she left home for work, the accused stripped her daughter and subjected her to sexual assault after sending the son to the terrace.During trial, the prosecution requested the court to correct the age of the girl from 10 years to 13 years, supporting their claim with a medical report, and also prayed for changing the Pocso Act section under which he was charged from Section 5(m)/6 [committing penetrative sexual assault on a child who is below 12 years of age] to Section 5(i)/6 [committing penetrative sexual assault on a child more than once]. Both were allowed by the court.The girl said she was sexually assaulted by her stepfather for over a year and was not given a chance to tell her mother about the incidents. Her mother said she could only tell her about the assault on Feb 16, when the accused was away from home for three days. Following this, she filed the complaint with police.The defence counsel questioned the delay in the lodging of the FIR and the lack of medical evidence to prove the accusation of aggravated penetrative sexual assault, but the court dismissed both the objections, stating that medical corroboration is not essential for the establishment of sexual assault. “The minor has been consistent in her statement given to police, magistrate and this court; moreover, she had narrated the same fold of events to the doctor who conducted the medical examination and confirmed that her hymen was old, torn and healed.”
