PUNE: The court of additional sessions judge (POCSO Act) SS Saste on Thursday convicted and sentenced a barber (24) to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a seven-year-old boy in a room inside his shop in the Vimantal police area on Nov 7, 2022.The accused, who had secured bail three months after his arrest on Nov 10, 2022, was taken into custody soon after the pronouncement of judgment and was sent to jail to serve the sentence, said Special Public Prosecutor Nitin Konghe.The court held that the evidence recorded by the boy, his mother and his father, who is the complainant, was consistent and reliable. The boy’s testimony inspired confidence and did not appear to be tutored, besides there was no question of examining an independent witness as the crime occurred within the four walls of a room inside the shop.The court also dismissed the defence of the accused that he had been implicated falsely due to an injury caused inadvertently to the boy while cutting his hair. The court noted that the complainant did not mention any injury as it was a minor cut worth ignoring. Additionally, no family would put their child’s and their own reputation at risk by making such an allegation.The court referred to the psychological impact of such offences on children and said the absence of visible injuries does not negate the trauma suffered by the victim. “The victim has to suffer agony in too small age” it observed.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect his privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
