POCSO court jails juvenile 20 years for minor assault in Vizianagaram

Visakhapatnam: A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court in Vizianagaram, on Thursday, sentenced a juvenile to 20 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl. The court imposed a fine of Rs 12,000 on the convict and directed the government to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the victim.The police said the juvenile lured the minor (Class-X student) on the pretext of love and marriage. He took her to various places and repeatedly sexually assaulted her. He also filmed the heinous crime and sent it to the girl's social media account. However, the crime came to light when the victim's uncle noticed the private videos on the girl's mobile.Based on the complaint, the Garividi police in Vizianagaram district registered a case. Considering the crime committed by the juvenile as heinous, the police produced the juvenile before the Juvenile Justice Board. Based on the committee report, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) referred the matter to the special POCSO court to hold the trial of the accused. The POSCO court sentenced the juvenile and slapped a fine.