Crime news: A priest was sentenced to 15 years of rigorous imprisonment for sodomising a boy in 2016 in the national capital. The court said that the gravity of the offence was exacerbated because the offender sexually exploited a 15-year-old working as a regular volunteer at the temple. Additional Sessions Judge Harleen Singh was hearing the case against the man who was convicted last month for offences under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 377 (unnatural offences), 506 (criminal intimidation) and under POCSO sections 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault).
Additional Public Prosecutor Ankit Agarwal sought maximum punishment for the priest, saying it was a heinous offence.
According to the facts of the case noted by the court, the boy used to clean the temple voluntarily in a residential area of the city where the priest sodomised and forced him to touch his private parts. The physical abuse continued for nearly two months, after which the victim approached the police which registered an FIR, it noted.
What did the court say?
In an order passed on Wednesday, the court said, "The convict was 43 years old at the time of the commission of the offence, whereas the victim boy was 15 years old. Further, the convict being a priest of the temple targeting and sexually exploiting the minor victim boy, who was a regular volunteer at the said temple, adds to the gravity of the offence."
"Keeping in view all the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, the convict is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 15 years and to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 for the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act," the court added.
It also sentenced him to 10 years RI for the offence under IPC section 377, one-year simple imprisonment for the offence of criminal intimidation, and 5 years RI for committing the offence under Section 10 of the POCSO Act. The sentences will run concurrently, the court said.
It observed that the courts must deal with sexual offences against children with "utmost sensitivity" as it was a "crime against society at large." According to the victim impact report, the convict also worked as a security guard and had four sons and as many daughters.
(With PTI inputs)
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