Mumbai POCSO Court convicts man for ‘grooming’ minor for future sexual activity; orders 6 months' jail

A Mumbai court recently convicted a man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) for 'grooming' a minor girl [State v. Ismail Kadar]. .Grooming is when a person engages in predatory conduct to prepare a child or young person for sexual activity at a later time.Special POCSO judge Priya Bankar sentenced the man to 6 months imprisonment, observing that such sexual offences against children would affect the mental health and future of the victim. In her complaint, the 15-year-old victim stated that the accused approached her repeatedly while returning from school under the pretext of selling notebooks and pens. The Court in the judgment noted that the act of the accused to follow the victim repeatedly and trying to contact her by asking her to buy pens and books, will definitely amount to sexual harassment. “Said act of the accused definitely shows that he has a sexual intent and therefore he has followed the 15 years old girl and was offering pen and book only to interact with her and to develop the relationship by offering the articles. It was the process of grooming the child for his sexual intent. Otherwise also, there is absolutely no explanation from the accused why he was trying to contact the minor victim girl at the relevant time,” the order stated. .He tried to contact her by asking her to take pen and book despite the disinterest shown by the victim. The same is sufficient to show the sexual intent of the accused, the Court held.“The victim is 15 years old, school going child. The accused was 40 years old. So, looking to the age difference between victim and accused, there was no need to accused to offer the victim a pen or book and even to contact her and to follow her. The said act of the accused itself sufficient to show his sexual intent,” the Court observed..The Court also highlighted the recent increase in the number of offences against minors which demonstrated the inhuman mindset of the accused. “There is very adverse impact of the incident on victim, on her family members and even on the society. Such type of incident, is going to affect the mental health and future of the minor victim,” the Court observed in the conviction order..Special Public Prosecutor Sulbha Joshi appeared for State. Advocate Kirtane appeared for accused. [Read Judgment]