Man gets death sentence for sexually assaulting three minor girls

Madurai: The special court for the exclusive trial of cases under the Pocso Act in Tirunelveli, on Thursday, convicted a man and imposed death sentence for sexually assaulting three minor girls.The prosecution case is that a 38-year-old man (Anand Sekar, presently aged 41) worked as a daily-wage labourer. In 2023, he took three minor girls aged 6, 7 and 8 years to the house of one of the girl's grandmother when she was away at work. He sexually assaulted the girls and threatened them not to reveal it to anyone.The incident came to light when one of the girls, who was walking with her mother, started acting strangely on seeing the accused a few days after the occurrence. When the woman interacted with her daughter, she learnt about the sexual assault. Following this incident, the parents of the girls lodged a complaint with the police. The all woman police registered a case for offences under the Pocso Act and arrested the accused.The special court judge K Suresh Kumar observed that the offence proved against the accused was extremely grave in nature. The manner in which the offence was committed and the threats administered to silence the victims clearly demonstrated a high degree of culpability on the part of the accused.The judge observed that the probation officer's report revealed that the accused was a habitual drunkard and prone to aggressive and unstable behaviour while under the influence of alcohol. Such conduct could not be treated as a mitigating circumstance; on the contrary, it reflected a pattern of irresponsible and volatile behaviour which posed a continuous risk to society.The judge observed that sentencing must balance the rights of the accused with the interests of the victims and society at large. Granting leniency in such cases would not only undermine the object of the Pocso Act but also erode public confidence in the administration of criminal justice. Considering the gravity of the offence, the conduct of the accused and the irreversible harm caused to the victims, the accused was not entitled to leniency in the matter of sentencing.Hence, the judge convicted the accused and imposed the death sentence for the offence under sections of the Pocso Act. The judge also directed the govt to pay 7 lakh each as compensation to the girls.Special public prosecutor P Usha appeared for the prosecution in the case.