Preacher sentenced to death for sexually assaulting four minor girls in TN’s Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli: A special court in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli on Thursday sentenced a 50-year-old preacher to death after convicting him of sexually assaulting four minor girls who attended classes at a prayer hall run by him during their school vacation in 2022.

The convicted preacher was identified as S. Abraham, a preacher who operated the prayer hall at Mela Ilanthaikulam, near Thevarkulam in Tirunelveli district.

The prosecution said Abraham exploited the trust placed in him by the children and their families and committed the offences after bringing the girls to the premises on the pretext of conducting moral science classes.

The assaults occurred during the vacation in 2022, when the minor girls attended the sessions believing they were meant for religious and moral instruction.

According to the prosecution, Abraham used the classes as a cover to gain access to the children and sexually assaulted them. The case came to light after the girls disclosed the abuse to their parents.

Acting on their accounts, the families approached the Thevarkulam police and lodged complaints. Police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and took Abraham into custody on July 5, 2022.

Investigators subsequently completed the inquiry and placed the evidence collected in the case before the special court established for the exclusive trial of offences under the POCSO Act.

During the proceedings, the prosecution presented its case concerning the assault of all four children, while the court examined the material and testimony brought before it.

POCSO Special Court Judge Suresh Kumar found Abraham guilty and pronounced the capital sentence on Thursday, bringing the four-year-old prosecution to a conclusion at the trial-court level.

Further particulars of the sentence, including any fine or compensation ordered for the survivors, were not immediately available. Under criminal procedure, a death sentence passed by a sessions court cannot be carried out unless it is confirmed by the jurisdictional High Court.

The convict is also entitled to challenge both the conviction and sentence through the appellate process. The identities of the four survivors have been withheld in accordance with legal safeguards protecting children subjected to sexual offences.

Enacted in 2012, the POCSO Act provides a specialised legal framework for prosecuting sexual crimes against persons below 18 and mandates child-sensitive investigation and trial procedures.

IANS