Man jailed for 10yrs for sexually assaulting a 14-yr-old boy
A Delhi court sentenced a man to ten years in jail for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old mentally weak boy in 2014. The boy had disclosed that the accused had sexually abused him several times a week. The court held that though the boy was mentally weak at the time of crime, his statement could be taken as trustworthy.
A Delhi court has sentenced a man to 10 years in jail for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old mentally weak boy in east Delhi in 2014.The boy?s father had lodged a complaint with the police in May 13, 2014. A day earlier, the boy had disclosed that the accused, Dinesh, who ran a barber shop, had committed ?galat kaam? (wrong act) with him during several occasions for one week and had threatened him not to disclose it to anyone. An FIR was registered at Krishna Nagar police station and Dinesh was arrested. The court noted that the mental condition of the child victim was weak at the time of the crime. When his statement was recorded, the boy was answering the questions very slowly. He was even not able to tell the exact time in the watch. The boy?s father told the court that his 14-year-old son had the mentality ability of a class 2 student though he was studying in class 5 at the time of the incident. The school authorities also deposed that the boy was a slow learner and cannot cope up with normal school syllabus as he had an intelligence quotient below average. The court noted that the boy preferred to tell about the act and conduct of the accused first to a doctor near his house instead of his family members. ?This behaviour points out that he was not fully capable to think and to take a wise decision about what is wrong or what is right for him and to whom he should rely upon and keep faith. This also clearly leads to the conclusion that victim was somehow a mentally weak child at the commission of the offence,? the court said in its judgment.Dinesh had pleaded not guilty. He claimed he had been falsely implicated in the case. Dinesh said the boy had gone to his shop twice for a hair cut but did not pay money and urinated there.  So he had told the boy that he would beat him up if he came again. The boy in his cross examination in the court admitted that he used to throw articles such as combs and scissors on Dinesh whenever he visited his shop. But the court held that this act of the boy did not mean Dinesh could commit a serious and heinous offence by taking advantage of his mentally weak situation. The court said the boy was telling the truth and his statement could be relied upon being trustworthy. It held Dinesh guilty under section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. It also directed the Delhi Legal Service Authority (East) to pay a compensation of R 50,000 to the boy for the mental torture. 