Kendrapada: A court in Jagatsinghpur on Thursday sentenced a 65-year-old man to four years of imprisonment for outraging the modesty of a 12-year-old girl last year.
Judge Gargi Patnaik convicted the man under sections 354 and 354(A) of the Indian Penal Code and section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict. Failure to pay the fine would result in his sentence being increased by six months. The court directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay compensation of Rs 1,50,000 to the victim girl.
As per the police complaint filed by the minor girl’s family members, the convict molested the 12-year-old when she was taking a bath in her house on Apr 16, 2024. “Eight witnesses, including the minor girl, deposed in this case in court,” said public prosecutor Shiba Prasad Majhi.