TIRUNELVELI: A 47-year-old pastor was awarded four death sentences by the Special Court for Pocso Act cases in Tirunelveli on Thursday for sexually assaulting four minor girls in 2022.
The convict, Abraham, is from a village in Tirunelveli district. According to the prosecution, he sexually assaulted the four girls, following which the Tirunelveli rural all-women police registered a case on July 5, 2022. He was arrested and a charge sheet was subsequently filed.
Special court judge K Suresh Kumar awarded four death sentences and imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Abraham, observing that the case fell under the ‘rarest of rare’ category. The court also directed the state government to provide compensation of `10 lakh each to the four survivors.
“The offence proved against the accused is of extremely grave nature, involving penetrative sexual assault on four minor children,” the judge said, noting that Abraham had preyed on children he was expected to guide and showed no genuine remorse.
Police said the investigation was monitored by Additional Superintendent of Police M Shanmugam. Seventeen Pocso cases have ended in conviction in Tirunelveli district this year, including two death sentences.