A special court has sentenced a 50-year-old man to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting seven minor girls two years ago. His accomplices – two women – who instigated him have also been sentenced to 20 years and five years in prison, respectively.
In 2021, the police raided a shop run by Perumal alias Iyamperumal after they received a tip-off that he was selling a banned gutkha product. During the raid, the police seized his mobile phone to get the details of Gutkha suppliers.
On checking the photo gallery of the phone, the police found several videos of rape of minor girls. In the initial investigation, the police team assumed that he had downloaded child porn videos, but on closer investigation, it was found that Perumal himself was involved in the act.
On further questioning, Perumal revealed that he had been raping minor girls for the past six months. He also claimed that the two women, who were sisters, were his accomplices in the act and had also allowed him to rape their daughters.
The case was registered under sections 9 (aggravated sexual assault), 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) and 17 (punishment for abetment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. Police arrested Ayyaperumal along with two women aged 28 and 30. Police also said that the victims were under 13 years of age.
The three accused were tried before a special court in the High Court premises for special trial of cases under the POCSO Act. At the conclusion of the trial, the court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment, apart from imposing a fine of ₹85,000.
The court sentenced one of the women to 20 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, while another woman was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000.