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Kohima, August 4 (MExN): A 66-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment by a POCSO court in Nagaland for raping a 14-year-old girl in Tseminyu district in 2019, with the judge observing that the “vulnerability of the child victim constituted a significant aggravating circumstance” which outweighed the convict’s mitigating pleas.
The Court of Principal District & Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (POCSO), Mezivolu T Therieh, NJS, convicted Ngabu Kent on August 3 and pronounced the sentence on August 4. The Court sentenced Kent to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, with an additional simple imprisonment of one year in default of payment.
The Court applied Section 376(3) of the Indian Penal Code, which was in force at the time of the offence in 2019 and prescribes the greater punishment, in view of Section 42 of the POCSO Act. The convict was 59 years old when he committed the rape upon the child below 16 years of age at Phentejon BM Village, Tseminyu.
While passing the sentence, the Court held that the “mitigating circumstances advanced on behalf of the convict could not outweigh the gravity of the offence against a child below the age of 16 years.”
The Court further observed that the victim had suffered “grave physical, mental, and emotional trauma, the consequences of which are irreversible” and that the vulnerability of the child victim constituted a significant aggravating circumstance.
The Court also directed the State Government to release Rs 1,00,000 as victim compensation under Section 357A of the CrPC in accordance with the Victim Compensation Scheme operative in the State. The Kohima District Legal Services Authority was tasked with facilitating and monitoring the disbursement of the compensation amount to the girl victim.
The investigation was conducted by UBSI Vikuobinuo of Women Police Station, Kohima. During the trial, the prosecution examined seven witnesses. The State was represented by Special Public Prosecutor L. Sashimongla Jamir, who successfully established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Additional Public Prosecutor, Kohima, Abraham, stated that the conviction was the result of the coordinated efforts of the investigating agency, the prosecution, and the witnesses, and expressed appreciation to all those who contributed to securing justice for the child victim.
