MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Madurai police on an appeal filed by the director and manager of a private home, Russ Foundation at Thondaimanpatti in Madurai, against the conviction and sentence imposed on them for sexually assaulting a 10-year girl, an inmate of the home. The director of the home M Berlin Jose (59) and manager V John Prabakar (68) also requested the court to release them on bail, till the disposal of the appeal.
According to the prosecution, the victim, who was under the care of Russ Foundation since 2017, was found to be sexually assaulted by Jose and Prabakar. The incident came to light when she was admitted in a hospital on October 21, 2019 for treatment, the prosecution added. Following this, M Chathrapatti police registered a case against them under Sections 5, 6, 9 and 10 of Pocso Act and Section 376 DB of Indian Penal Code.
On March 1, a Special Court for Pocso cases in Madurai found the duo guilty and sentenced them to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of `1 lakh each, challenging which they have filed this joint appeal. Justice Vivek Kumar Singh issued the notice and adjourned the case to April first week.