A local court today sentenced a 30-year-old man from Bhayandar here to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl.
District Additional Sessions Judge UM Nandeshwar awarded the sentence to Mithilesh Yadav, a vegetable vendor, and also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on him for raping a five-year-old girl in 2014.
Additional public prosecutor Ruma Navle told the court that the accused and the victim were neighbours. On January 12, 2014, Yadav took the victim to his house by giving her some money and then raped her.
When the girl returned home, her mother asked that who gave her the money and further enquired about the incident. The victim's parents later lodged a complaint in this regard.
The accused was tried under IPC section 376 (2)(f) (rape on a woman when she is under 12 years of age) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act).
