‘CCTV on head, oral sex for stepfather in front of mother’, minor girl faced brutal sexual harassment

MANJERI: The Manjeri Special POCSO Court had the other day sentenced a woman and her partner to 180 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing her minor daughter. They were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 11.75 lakh each. The child's condition was noticed when her grandparents came to see her with the permission of the police. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) later took over the custody of the girl, who was in a locked room. The shocking information about the brutal torture was revealed by a question asked by the CWC employee that day.

The child asked whether a CCTV would be fitted on a head. When talked to her to know why she asked this question, came the shocking ordeal. 'My mother said a CCTV chip has been fitted on my head and that any disclosure would be detected.' When the employee asked more questions, the girl confessed everything.

The woman would call her daughter to the bedroom and give her alcohol. She will then show her sex videos on her mobile phone. Her mother and stepfather would indulge in sex in front of the minor girl. Later, her stepfather would rape and subject her to oral sex in front of her mother. This was explained to the court by the prosecution.

The girl was sexually abused in rented houses from December 2019 to November 2020. The punishment for each of the four sections of the POCSO Act is 40 years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of Rs 2 lakh each, and three months of imprisonment for each section in default of payment of the fine. The punishment for the other three sections is three years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of Rs 50,000 each, and one month of additional imprisonment for threatening the girl, two years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of Rs 25,000, and one month of additional imprisonment for failure in paying the fine.

Both the accused will also have to serve two years of rigorous imprisonment, a fine of Rs 1 lakh each, and two months of imprisonment for failure to pay the fine under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Since the prison sentences are to be served simultaneously, the maximum sentence is 40 years. If the accused pay the fine, the amount should be paid to the survivor.