83-year-old gets 10-year jail for raping minor girl in 2012

Panaji: The Bombay HC has upheld the conviction and 10-year rigorous imprisonment of an 83-year-old man for the 2012 rape of a nine-year-old girl, who was a friend and neighbour of his daughter.Justice Shreeram Shirsat emphasised that “the court does not find the age of the appellant, who is 83 years, a mitigating circumstance”, highlighting the severity of the crime and the lasting impact on the young survivor.The court rejected an appeal for a stay on the judgment sought by the accused, citing the gravity of the offence and the solid evidence presented in the case.An advocate appearing for the accused had sought a stay of the judgment and order for six weeks.The conviction was first handed down by the Goa children’s court in 2018, and the high court affirmed that the children’s court had rightly based its decision on credible evidence. The case came to light when the survivor disclosed the incident to a friend, who then informed her parents, leading to a timely complaint being lodged.“The victim in the present case has confided in the child of her age at the available opportunity and which in turn was communicated to her mother who without any loss of time and after properly ascertaining from the survivor has lodged the complaint...” the court held.“In the present case, the evidence of the survivor is unimpeachable and therefore, assuming that the prosecution has not examined the daughter of the appellant, for the reasons best known, the same will not be fatal to the prosecution’s case,” the court held.