Mumbai: Special Court on Wednesday punished and sentenced to life imprisonment of a Catholic priest Johnson Lawrence’s father to sync a young teen boy in 2015, under the protection of children from sexual violations (Pocso).
The boy is 13 years old.
In December 2015, the priest was 52 years old arrested by Mumbai police.
He has been in prison since then.
During the decision announcement, the priest was present at the court before the Seema Jadhav Special Judge who found him guilty of violations under Section 6 (penetrative sexual assault) and 12 (sexual abuse) Pocso.
Special Public Prosecutor Veena Shelar has examined nine witnesses to prove the case against the defendant.
The Imam defense is one of the total rejection.
His advisor Avinash Rasal argued that there was no evidence against him and to show he examined two defense witnesses, members of the Legion of Mary who said there were six-seven people present at the church at that time to attend the meeting when the alleged crime was said to have occurred.
One defense witness also said his little toddler fell asleep on the bed in the Father’s office where the alleged crime was accused of going.
Rasal also said there was no blood trace or cement on the sheets or clothes.
FIR registered by parents has accused that the boy will visit the church regularly several times a week to pray and in August 2015, he was asked to remain alone one day when he was suspected of being harassed.
The boy, from the economic background economically, did not immediately notify his parents because he was afraid of his lurry, the prosecutor said but had fallen ill and had to be hospitalized, but his behavior at home changed, he looked scared and not open When his parents asked if something was wrong, said the word said.
On November 27, the family went to church and the boy was again sodomized by the Father who asked him to take a box to his office around 8:15 pm until 8:30 a.m., and threatened him to stay quiet about it, said the boy.
The child told what happened later that night to his mother, said prosecution.
Rasal defense advisor examined a police officer who had produced the priest after his arrest for the first detention to show that the initial statement of the child did not mention the allegations of August but the documents were submitted in the chargesheet entered.
Rasal argues that it is the case of “document fabrication”.
The prosecution examined a doctor as a witness, regardless of the child who was overthrown.
The judgment of reasonable beliefs will be available later.
“When the defendant was punished under Section 6 of the Pocso Law, no separate sentence charged for violations that could be punished under Section 377 (unnatural violations) under the Indian Criminal Code, ” said the Order.
The court also recommends the case This to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for compensation to be paid to the victim.
(The identity of the victim has not yet been disclosed to protect his privacy according to the Supreme Court’s direction of cases related to sexual violence)
Imam gets the term life in cases of sexual violence
