Kerala court sentences woman to 20 years in jail for abetting rape of minor daughter

A Kerala court on Monday sentenced a 42-year-old woman to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for abetting rape of her own minor daughter..Special judge Rekha R called the woman’s actions unpardonable and a blot on motherhood, while rejecting her plea to take a lenient view in the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.“The mitigating factors put forth by the accused No.2 are meant to invite mercy but the factual matrix cannot allow mercy to accused No.2 who had committed an insult to motherhood,” the trial court at Thiruvananthapuram said..The Court observed that the mother had told the child that “it was okay” when the then 7-year-old child complained about the sexual assault. The Court was further told that the mother would take the child to the house of the perpetrator who raped her. During the trial, the child also reported that rape took place in her mother's presence as well several times.All of this proved that the mother had intentionally aided the main accused, the court opined. The Court concluded that such actions by the mother amounted to "abetment" under Section 16 of the POCSO Act..The Court added that the child, who was supposed to spend time in cheerfulness, was made to suffer aggravated penetrative sexual assault due to the actions of her own mother. The accused mother, who was supposed to be the protector and guardian of the child, was instead responsible for shattering the daughter's childhood and depriving her of a family environment, the court said..The case concerned a child who was said to have been raped by a man on several occasions between March 2018 and September 2019 when she was studying in Class I and II. The child was raped at her own house and as well as the house of the perpetrator, the Court was told.She was 6-7 years old at the time and later disclosed the sexual assault to a counsellor at a shelter home.The main accused passed away by the time the case reached the trial court. The child's mother, however, faced charges for intentionally abetting the crime and not reporting it to the police.The trial court concluded that aggravated penetrative sexual assault had taken place on the victim several times and that the child was very consistent in deposing that the rape had taken place in front of her mother as well.The mother was found to have transported the child to the perpetrator’s house where the sexual assault took place. The cross-examiner was not able to create any doubt in the victim’s statement, observed the court..The Court also rejected the argument that the child victim was influenced and tutored by the police and the child welfare committee to adduce evidence against her mother. .The Court proceeded to opine that severe punishment should be imposed on the mother to “prevent recurrence of similar offences and to deter potential offenders from committing similar offences.”.Accordingly, the court ordered that the mother undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 20 years for her crime. .Special Public Prosecutor Vijay Mohan R S appeared for the State. Advocate Rajeekanth R S represented the accused..[Read Judgment]