A man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for repeatedly raping and sodomising his minor step daughter by a Delhi court which said "childhood across the country is at risk".
Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Garg awarded the jail term to 35-year-old man, resident of east Delhi, and observed that recent "horrific incidents" of rape have created a "furore" in the society.
"The victim in this case is just aged about 13 years and step daughter of the convict. She was repeatedly subjected to horrific and sadistic sexual assault. A recent report by Asian Centre for Women Rights says that incidents of child rape have multiplied in the last decade.
"The recent horrific incidents of rape have created a furore in the society. It appears across the nation that childhood is at risk. The children of this age are vulnerable and are easy prey to such sexual assaults," the court said.
According to the prosecution, the girl's mother had lodged a complaint with police last year alleging that the accused, whom she married after the death of her first husband, has been sexually abusing her elder daughter, 13, since 2010.
On February 27, 2012, the New Ashok Nagar resident again tried to rape the minor but she ran away and complained to a neighbour about it, the police said, adding that the accused used to threaten her not to disclose his activities to anyone.
The girl had said that her step father was an alcoholic.
During the trial, the accused claimed he was falsely implicated in the case as the girl was having an affair with a boy and when he objected to it, she lodged a case against him.
The court said the convict does not deserve any leniency and held him guilty for rape and unnatural offence and also impsoed a fine of Rs 3,000 on him.
It directed the East Delhi Legal Service Authority to pay compensation to the victim as per provisions of guidelines of Delhi Government under Victim Compensation Scheme.
