<p>A Special Women’s Court hearing cases under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act here on Monday sentenced five accused to a life term – life in jail for four of them – and different punishment for ten others for raping an 11-year-old hearing-impaired girl inside an apartment complex in 2018.</p>.<p>Special Judge R N Manjula sentenced one accused to seven years in jail and nine others to five-year sentence in the case that shook the conscience of Tamil Nadu. Pronouncing the verdict in a packed courtroom two days after declaring 15 of the total 16 accused guilty of the crime, the special judge said S Ravikumar (66), M Suresh (32), N Abhishek (23) and R Palani (40) deserved no leniency and sentenced them to life in prison.</p>.<p>While A Rajasekar (40) was sentenced to life imprisonment and B Erald Bross (58) to seven years in jail, judge Manjula awarded five years jail term for S Murugesu (54), S Paramasivam (60), A Umapathy (42), R Sugumaran (60), A Jayaganesh (23), B Deenadayalan (50), J Raja (32), E Surya (23), and A Jayaraman (26).</p>.<p>Delivering the verdict, the judge said since the convicts had served more than 18 months in jail, they are not being slapped with a penalty. A total of 17 people was arrested when the gruesome incident came to light in July 2018 -- P Gunasekaran was acquitted on February 1 and another accused, N Babu, died while in custody.</p>.<p>The hearing-impaired girl, who showed extraordinary grit by identifying the culprits, was raped by Ravikumar, a lift operator, in January 2018 who then involved his colleagues who worked as plumber and electrician inside the complex to sexually abuse the minor.</p>.<p>The minor was raped for six months until she poured her heart out to her elder sister in July 2018 who came home on a vacation. The accused were then booked under various sections of the POSCO Act and IPC.</p>.<p>Public prosecutor N Ramesh said though he sought capital punishment for the accused, he was satisfied with the verdict as the court has been able to serve justice to the minor.</p>.<p>Transgender activist and TV host Apsara Reddy, who helped the family during the testing times and organised a protest march in the city, told DH that the punishment will be a deterrent for anyone who thinks about sexual violence against children.</p>.<p>“This judgement shouldn’t lead the way to any pardon towards the accused so as to assure the public that such crimes and their perpetrators will not be allowed any leniency. A child even being a survivor continues to suffer the scars of this abuse for a lifetime. Why should these men just be limited to serving a temporary time?” she asked.</p>
<p>A Special Women’s Court hearing cases under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act here on Monday sentenced five accused to a life term – life in jail for four of them – and different punishment for ten others for raping an 11-year-old hearing-impaired girl inside an apartment complex in 2018.</p>.<p>Special Judge R N Manjula sentenced one accused to seven years in jail and nine others to five-year sentence in the case that shook the conscience of Tamil Nadu. Pronouncing the verdict in a packed courtroom two days after declaring 15 of the total 16 accused guilty of the crime, the special judge said S Ravikumar (66), M Suresh (32), N Abhishek (23) and R Palani (40) deserved no leniency and sentenced them to life in prison.</p>.<p>While A Rajasekar (40) was sentenced to life imprisonment and B Erald Bross (58) to seven years in jail, judge Manjula awarded five years jail term for S Murugesu (54), S Paramasivam (60), A Umapathy (42), R Sugumaran (60), A Jayaganesh (23), B Deenadayalan (50), J Raja (32), E Surya (23), and A Jayaraman (26).</p>.<p>Delivering the verdict, the judge said since the convicts had served more than 18 months in jail, they are not being slapped with a penalty. A total of 17 people was arrested when the gruesome incident came to light in July 2018 -- P Gunasekaran was acquitted on February 1 and another accused, N Babu, died while in custody.</p>.<p>The hearing-impaired girl, who showed extraordinary grit by identifying the culprits, was raped by Ravikumar, a lift operator, in January 2018 who then involved his colleagues who worked as plumber and electrician inside the complex to sexually abuse the minor.</p>.<p>The minor was raped for six months until she poured her heart out to her elder sister in July 2018 who came home on a vacation. The accused were then booked under various sections of the POSCO Act and IPC.</p>.<p>Public prosecutor N Ramesh said though he sought capital punishment for the accused, he was satisfied with the verdict as the court has been able to serve justice to the minor.</p>.<p>Transgender activist and TV host Apsara Reddy, who helped the family during the testing times and organised a protest march in the city, told DH that the punishment will be a deterrent for anyone who thinks about sexual violence against children.</p>.<p>“This judgement shouldn’t lead the way to any pardon towards the accused so as to assure the public that such crimes and their perpetrators will not be allowed any leniency. A child even being a survivor continues to suffer the scars of this abuse for a lifetime. Why should these men just be limited to serving a temporary time?” she asked.</p>
