Priest gets 7-yr RI for sex abuse of minor girl

Thrissur: A Roman Catholic priest has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment under the Pocso Act for sexually abusing a girl from his parish.The Thrissur fast-track court judge Bindu Sudhakaran also fined Raju Kokkan (49), son of Joseph from Amballur, Rs 50,000.According to the special public prosecutor K P Ajayakumar, the incident happened in 2014, when Kokkan was the priest at St Paul’s Church, Thaikkattussery near Ollur. The victim was only 10 years old then. The priest abused her when she had come to the church to attend the preparatory class for first Holy Communion, said Ajayakumar.The students, other teachers of the preparatory class and some priests were arraigned as witnesses in the case. Photos taken using a mobile phone had become crucial evidence in the case, said the prosecutor.The judge accepted the submission of the prosecution that the accused did not deserve any mercy as he committed such a heinous crime despite the fact that he occupied a revered position in a church. tnn