The Special Court for the trial of cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Coimbatore, has sentenced a man from Kerala to undergo 20 years of imprisonment for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in 2021.

The Special court judge G. Kulasekaran awarded the punishment to Arun Kumar, son of Mani from Munnar in Idukki district of Kerala.

The police said that Kumar was working as a taxi driver. He had come to Coimbatore airport with a client in 2021 and visited a distant relative’s family. Kumar sexually assaulted the girl in the absence of others and threatened her not to disclose the incident to anyone. The girl disclosed her ordeals to her parents after Kumar left for Kerala, the police said.

Kumar was arrested under different Sections of the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code, after the girl’s parents lodged a complaint with the All Women Police Station (AWPS), Coimbatore east.

Inspector Dowlath Nisha investigated the case and filed the charge-sheet against Kumar. Poornima Devi appeared for the prosecution during the trial, which was completed on March 21, and the court found Kumar guity.

The court awarded 20 years of imprisonment with a fine of ₹10,000 for sexual assault, five years of imprisonment with a fine of ₹1,000 for offences under Section 449 (house-trespass in order to commit an offence punishable with death) and a one-year prison term with a fine of ₹1,000 for offence under 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS. The sentences will run concurrently.