Thane’s special court in Maharashtra has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl. Special Judge D S Deshmukh found Terry Jojef Bhonkya (43) guilty under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court imposed a 10-year rigorous imprisonment term on the accused, a Bhayander resident, and levied a fine of Rs 6,000. The fine amount will be provided as compensation to the victim.
Special Public Prosecutor Sandhya H Mhatre informed the court that the accused resided in the same neighborhood as the victim, who was six years old at the time of the 2018 incident. On April 20, 2018, while the child’s parents were away in the morning, leaving her playing outside their house, the accused took the girl inside and subjected her to sexual assault. The child later disclosed the assault to her mother, and neighbors reported seeing the accused leaving the house, according to the prosecutor. During the trial, seven witnesses, including the victim and her mother, were examined, Mhatre stated.