VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada POCSO court on Thursday sentenced a church pastor to undergo 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of `30,000 for sexually abusing three minor girls.
According to the police, the case was registered at Machavaram police station following a complaint that the accused allegedly behaved inappropriately with the complainant’s 10-year-old daughter and two other minor girls, aged 11 and 10, near a church close to their residence in 2020. Following the complaint, police registered a case and arrested the accused.
Police found that the 56-year-old accused worked as a pastor and conducted Sunday evening classes for children. The three minor girls attended the classes, where he allegedly molested them. The complainant alleged that he threatened to harm the girls if they disclosed it.