The police said that the convict was underage when he committed the rape in 2017. (Representational)
A Mathura court on Tuesday sentenced a youth to 20 years' prison for raping a five-year-old girl in a rural area here about four years ago, a court official said.
The convict was underage when he committed the rape in 2017, he said.
The sentence was awarded on the basis of the recommendation made by the Juvenile Justice Board, which said that the accused, a juvenile at the time of the crime, be tried as an adult owing to the gravity of the crime, the official said.
The incident took place February 15, 2017, when the convict took the girl playing near her house to a desolate spot and raped her, said Additional District Government Counsel Subhash Chandra Chaturvedi The family found the victim bleeding from private parts and took her to a hospital and lodged a complaint with the police.
According to officials, when the accused was found guilty, the defence counsel pleaded the judge to take a lenient view as he was juvenile and a first-time offender.
The accused was booked under Section 376, 377, and 323 of the Indian Penal Code and section 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act.
Additional Special Judge POCSO Act Court No 2 also imposed on the accused a fine of Rs 50 thousand on each section, and sentence of additional six month on each instance of failure to pay the fine.
In addition, under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, the accused has been sentenced for one year, with a fine of Rs 10,000, with a rider that two months will be added to his sentence on his failure to pay this fine.
All punishments, however, will run concurrently, officials said. The time passed by the accused in jail during the trial, would be adjusted against his sentence, they said.
The judge has ordered total fine to be paid to the victim, they added.
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