A Special POCSO Court in Kohima has sentenced a 66-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl, holding that the gravity of the offence and the irreversible trauma inflicted on the child far outweighed any mitigating circumstances advanced by the convict.

Principal District & Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (POCSO), Mezivolu T Therieh, NJS, convicted Ngabu Kent on August 4 under Section 376(3) of the Indian Penal Code read with Sections 3 and 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, for sexually assaulting the minor in Tseminyu in 2019. At the time of the offence, the accused was 59 years old while the victim was just 14 years old.

On Tuesday, the Court sentenced the convict to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 20 years and imposed a fine of ₹5,000. In default of payment, he would have to undergo an additional one year of simple imprisonment.

The Court observed that Section 376(3) of the IPC, which prescribed a higher punishment at the time the offence was committed, would prevail in view of Section 42 of the POCSO Act. It ruled that the mitigating factors cited by the defence could not diminish the seriousness of the crime committed against a child below 16 years of age.

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The Court further noted that the victim had suffered severe physical, mental and emotional trauma, the consequences of which were irreversible, and held that the vulnerability of the child constituted a significant aggravating factor while determining the sentence.

In addition to the prison term, the Court directed the State Government to pay ₹1,00,00 as victim compensation under Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure in accordance with the Victim Compensation Scheme in force in Nagaland. The Kohima District Legal Services Authority was directed to facilitate and monitor the disbursement of the compensation to the survivor.

The case was investigated by UBSI Vikuobinuo of Women Police Station, Kohima. During the trial, the prosecution examined seven witnesses.

The State was represented by Special Public Prosecutor L Sashimongla Jamir, who successfully established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

Additional Public Prosecutor, Kohima Abraham stated that the conviction was the result of the coordinated efforts of the investigating agency, the prosecution, and the witnesses, and expressed appreciation to all those who contributed to securing justice for the child victim.