COIMBATORE/NAGAPATTINAM: A 72-year-old man was arrested on Monday evening by the Coimbatore Rural police for allegedly molesting three minor girls at his farmhouse in a village near Perur on August 15. He reportedly lured the three children home when they were out grazing their pet goats in the locality. The matter came to light when a team of one-stop crisis centre visited the victims’ school to conduct an awareness programme on harassment against children.
According to one-stop centre caseworker J Sherin Reshma, the team often conducts programmes at schools (especially in villages) to make children aware of safety, good touch-bad touch, and crimes against them. “On August 28, we conducted a similar programme at a school in Kuppanur village. It was then that three children -- aged about 9-11 years -- told us about being sexually abused by an elderly person (a neighbour) in their village.
The matter was immediately conveyed to the Perur All-Women Police, who registered a case,” explained Sherin. During the team’s visit, one child reportedly came up to them and revealed that she had been molested by the elderly man when she was grazing her pet goats near his garden. She also mentioned that she had two of her friends with her that day. When the team found the other two children, they too reportedly described the same events. It took two days for the team and the police to find the man based on the information they received from the children.
The girls had also revealed that the person had molested them before the August 15 incident too, by offering chocolates from his grocery store, said police officials.“The three children were not aware that they had been molested. It was only after attending the programme conducted by the one-stop crisis centre team that they realised it was sexual assault,” said a police official.
Labourer held
In another inicident, a daily wage labourer was arrested and charged under POCSO Act for allegedly trying to sexually assault a mentally challenged minor girl near Tharangambadi on Monday. K Suresh, a labourer tried to sexually assault the 17-year-old girl when she went into the woods to relieve herself on Monday morning. Suresh who noticed the girl alone tried to rape her but she raised an alarm which brought neighbours to the scene. Suresh fled the spot. Suresh was arrested at night following a complaint.