Five convicted for minor marriage and child sex abuse in Theni

MADURAI: Fast Track Mahila Court in Theni on Wednesday convicted five persons for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and The Child Marriage Act.

According to the prosecution, Vanajothi (39) of Ettapparajapuram village found her 17-year-old daughter missing on September 8, 2016 and lodged a ‘girl missing’ case with Kandamanur police.

The probe revealed that the victim’s relatives including K. Suresh alias Suresh Kumar (33) along with K. Kalimuthu alias Marimuthu (67), Babyammal (68), wife of Kalimuthu had hatched a plot to abduct the girl.

They abducted the minor girl to the house of their relative Jaya (35) at Pothencode, Trivandrum of Kerala. Jaya along with the aid of her husband S. Soman (40) helped Suresh, the key accused, who married the minor girl in a temple at Pothencode.

Sessions Judge sentenced Suresh, his father and his mother to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.