Tamil Nadu court hands death sentence to 45-year-old man for sexually assaulting five minor girls

MADURAI: The special court for exclusive trial of cases under Pocso Act in Sivaganga on Friday convicted and imposed death sentence on a 45-year-old man for sexually assaulting five minor girls (all aged below 10) in the district. Judge R Gokul Murugan also directed the state govt to pay a compensation of Rs7 lakh each to the survivors.The convict, Chandran, a daily wage labourer, is married and has a son and a married daughter. A minor girl who was his neighbour used to visit his house to play with his grandchild. According to the prosecution, when his wife went to leave their daughter and grandchild at her in-law's house, he invited the girl to his house to play with his mobile phone. He offered her snacks and money and sexually assaulted her. He asked her to bring her friends to his house to play with his mobile phone. He sexually assaulted four other minor girls who came to his house on various occasions between 2023 and 2024, and threatened them against revealing it to anyone.The incident came to light when one of the girls, after attending a ‘good touch bad touch’ awareness programme, told her teachers about their ordeal. In Feb 2024, All Women Police arrested the accused after registering a case for offences under Pocso Act. Police filed the final report before the trial court after concluding investigation.Considering the seriousness of the offence committed against the minor girls, the judge held that the case falls within the category of rarest of rare, and thus imposed death sentence on the accused for offences under Pocso Act. A fine of Rs 11,000 was also imposed on him. Special public prosecutor V R Dhanalakshmi appeared for the prosecution in the case.