THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 24-year-old youth has been sentenced to 13 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 45000 for sexually assaulting a minor girl. Pangode native Unni was sentenced by Thiruvananthapuram Special Fast Track Court Judge R Rekha. The accused will have to spend an additional year in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

The court found that the accused had sexually assaulted the 14-year-old girl twice. The sexual assault took place in 2017 when the girl was studying in Class 5 and in 2021 when the girl was studying in Class 9. The accused forcefully dragged the girl to a room in the house and sexually assaulted her after stuffing cloth in her mouth. He also threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the harassment

The girl did not tell anyone about the harassment due to fear. Although the child was taken to the doctor after she showed mental health issues, she did not disclose about the harassment. The girl finally informed her mother about the harassment when the accused again tried to sexually assault her. It was Pangode SI J Ajayan who investigated the case.