Samples collected from 16-year-old girl turn crucial; man sentenced to 50 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting minor girl

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to 50 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly sexually abusing a minor girl. The convict, Shynu (37) is a native of Thiruvallam in Thiruvananthapuram. It was Special Fast-track Court judge Anju Meera who pronounced the sentence.

The first incident took place on the night of December 31, 2018, after a New Year’s party. The 16-year-old girl and her friends had gone to Kovalam to celebrate the New Year. Shynu was also with them. He took the girl and her friends to his relative’s house, where he first sexually assaulted her. The girl, however, did not reveal the incident out of fear. Taking advantage of her fear, Shynu continued to abuse her several times. He also threatened to tell her friends about the incident.

Shynu later went to the girl’s house and assaulted her multiple times, again threatening to expose her. The crime came to light when the girl and her sister did not return home on time after going to a nearby temple festival. When their father could not reach them on the phone, he filed a complaint with the Poonthura Police Station.

The police traced the girls and subjected them to medical tests as part of the procedures. During the medical test, it was confirmed that the 16-year-old had been sexually abused. The girl told the police that she had stayed silent because she was afraid of the threats. Samples collected from the minor were sent for DNA testing. The accused, who was already in custody in a theft case, was taken into police custody in this case as well, and his DNA samples were collected. Months later, the test results confirmed that the DNA matched Shynu.