A Special Court (POCSO) in Kendrapara has sentenced a 55-year-old man to 20-year rigorous imprisonment on the charge of carnal intercourse with a 14-year-old minor boy three years back in a cowshed in a village.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict and failure to pay would result in his sentence being increased by two years.

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The court also directed the Odisha State Legal Services Authority (OSLSA) to pay a compensation of Rs five lakh to the victim.

Pronouncing the verdict on Thursday, special POCSO court judge Tribikram Keshari Chinhara convicted Soudagar Sahoo under section 377 (unnatural offenses, including sexual relationships that are considered to be against nature) of Indian Penal Code and section – 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

The court said that the convict committed carnal intercourse against the order of nature with the minor.

The mother of the victim boy filed an FIR with the police station on 16 July 2021, alleging that the accused sodomized her son after dragging him to a cowshed isolated place near the village.

Ten witnesses including the victim deposed in the case before the court. After relying on the evidence of witnesses and a medical report, the court found him guilty of the offence, said Manoj Kumar Sahu, the special public prosecutor.