Child sexual abuse cases demonstrate inhuman mindset: POCSO court

Mumbai, Sep 10 (PTI) A special POCSO Act court here has sentenced a man to five years' imprisonment for molesting a girl in his neighborhood, observing that such cases show an "inhuman mindset".

Priya Bankar, special judge for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, held the accused guilty on September 3.

"The child sexual abuse cases demonstrate the inhuman mindset of the accused. There is a very adverse impact of the incident on victim girl, on her family members and even on society," the judge said.

"They will be under the impression that house and nearby vicinity is not safe for children, and it is going to cause an alarming situation in society," she added.

The incident will affect the mental health and future of the minor girl who will not be able to forget it, the court said.

The incident took place in November 2017 when the nine-year-old girl was playing outside her house while her parents had gone for work.

As per the prosecution, the accused (name not disclosed) called her to his house and showed her obscene videos on mobile phone and touched her inappropriately.

Based on the complaint filed by the minor's mother, Mahim police here registered an FIR against the accused.

The prosecution, led by special public prosecutor Vena Shelar, relied on the testimony of the girl and her mother, among others, to prove the guilt of the accused. PTI