THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fastrack court in Thiruvananthapuram has sentenced a 40-year-old former cricket trainer of the Kerala Cricket Association for 28 years rigorous imprisonment after he was found guilty of sexually abusing a minor female trainee.
This is the fourth Pocso case in which Manu M, of Sreevaraham, has been convicted. He was earlier sentenced for 99 years collectively in the three cases — all related to sexual abuse of his minor wards.
Judge Anju Meera Birla also slapped a fine of `54,000 on the convict. The sentence in this case will commence only after the prison terms in the rest of the cases end, she ordered.
After the announcement of the new punishment, the collective prison term awarded has risen to 127 years. Since the prison term for various offences run concurrently, he will serve 42 years in jail.
The victim in this case had appeared for training at the district cricket academy in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018. The prosecution had argued that Manu assaulted the girls on multiple occasions at the gym and the washroom.
He also obtained her nude photos under the guise of assessing her fitness level. The girl fell into a state of depression and quit training by 2021. Later she also tried to take her life following which she was under the care of a psychiatrist.
The ordeal came to fore after another girl trainee filed a police complaint against Manu for sexually abusing her. She had initially trained with Manu, but later joined another academy as she could not tolerate the ordeal.
Following her, the rest of the girls approached police with complaints. The Thiruvananthapuram city police had registered six Pocso cases against Manu, while another case was registered by Tenkasi police.