THANE: A Special POCSO Court in Thane has convicted a 31-year-old man for raping a teenage girl and sentenced him to ten years of rigorous imprisonment.
In his order of January 15, Judge Ruby U Malvankar of the special court set up under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on the convict.
According to the prosecution, the man, who is married and has four children, and the teenager were neighbours in the Kashimira area.
Special Public Prosecutor Varsha Chandane told the court that in December 2014, the man took the girl to a friend's house saying he would give her a new mobile phone and raped her.
Chandane said ten prosecution witnesses, including the survivor, testified during the trial.
In the order, the judge noted that the prosecution had proved the charges against the man beyond doubt.
In the considered view of this court, the accused is a young person. He has the responsibility of caring for his family as well. Therefore, considering all the aggravating and mitigating factors into consideration it would be appropriate to award punishment of 10 years which should meet the ends of justice along with a fine, the judge said.