The Kerala court has recently convicted & sentenced a man to 7 years in prison for molesting a minor autistic boy 10 years ago and said that everyone owes a special duty to cater to the needs of mentally challenged children.
Special Judge AAJ Sudarsan convicted & sentenced the 41-year-old driver under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for sexually assaulting the boy in 2013.
While imposing the sentence and a fine of ₹25,000 on the convict, the court said the punishment wasn’t only meant to be a deterrence to society, “it should also send a message that there is no disgrace in being a survivor of sexual violence and the shame is always on the aggressor”.
Further, the court said that in the instant case, the convict sexually assaulted a mentally disabled child taking advantage of its disability.
The judge observed that “Everyone owes a special duty to cater to the needs of mentally challenged children. Children, adolescents, and adults who are mentally retarded are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. They are vulnerable due to their life-long dependence on others, relatively powerless position in society, emotional and social insecurities, and lack of education regarding sexuality and sexual abuse.”
While convicting the accused, the court stated that the boy gave evidence with due clarity “which inspires confidence”.
It said that “It is to be noted that a child with mental retardation, whose brain has not developed, has a lack of thinking power so as to state falsehood or imagine and depose a false fact.”
The court also noted that the man had been accused in another POCSO case, but the same was settled with the victim. Public Prosecutor R S Vijay Mohan said that the incident occurred back in 2013 when the accused pulled the boy into a bus and sexually assaulted the child.
Then prosecutor said that the child, who was undergoing treatment for autism, had gone to dispose of garbage at a place near his home when he was accosted and sexually assaulted by the accused.
