Man In Karnataka Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison for Sexually Assaulting His Underage Daughter

A division bench of Justices HT Narendra Prasad and Rajendra Badamikar partially allowed an appeal filed by the state government on behalf of Belagavi police challenging the judgement of the III Additional District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge (POCSO Act) court on February 3, 2017.

It noted that the evidence creates that the accused who was the victim's father, committed aggravated sexual assault by exploiting her situation, especially when his wife was having hearing and speaking issues.

According to the evidence, the court noted that the accused's deed was both lustful and inhuman, and that the sexual assault lasted around 8 to 9 months. Presently the victim is happily married and lives with her husband.

The court ordered the prisoner to pay the fine to the victim for her welfare, which was issued along with the penalty for an offence punishable under Section 376(1) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. It further instructed the trial court to ensure the accused's presence for the remainder of his sentence.

Meanwhile, surveys conducted globally showed that the prevalence of child sexual abuse is estimated to be 19.7% for females and 7.9% for men. The majority of sexual abuse perpetrators are known to their victims; approximately 30% are relatives of the child, most commonly brothers, fathers, uncles, or cousins; approximately 60% are other acquaintances, such as "family friends," babysitters, or neighbours; and strangers are perpetrators in approximately 10% of child sexual abuse cases.

Men are responsible for the majority of child sexual abuse; studies on female child molesters suggest that women are responsible for 14 percent to 40% of offences reported against males and 6% of offences reported against girls.