Baripada, Mar 20: A Special POCSO Court in Baripada convicted a 28-year-old man in a sensitive sexual assault case and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on the convict, with an additional two years and six months of imprisonment in case of default.

The accused was identified as Lemba alias Dhaneswar Hembrom, a resident of Jamda village under Gorumahisani police station limits in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district.

Harassment, Assault and Threats
According to case details, the accused had been harassing a minor, a Plus Two college student, by repeatedly proposing to her over a long period.

On April 15, 2019, he sexually assaulted the victim and took obscene photographs. He later allegedly circulated the images to others’ mobile phones and threatened to kill the victim.

A case was registered at Gorumahisani police station on August 10, 2019.

Court Verdict After Trial
After examining all evidence and witness testimonies, Additional District and Sessions Judge and Special POCSO Court Judge SK Nayak found the accused guilty and pronounced the sentence.

The accused appeared in the hearing via video conferencing, while Special Public Prosecutor Prabhat Kumar Behera conducted the case, our source from the ground said.

The verdict came at a time when the latest NCRB report revealed an alarming state of women safety in Odisha. The state recorded the highest number of cases of assault or use of criminal force on women with intent to disrobe in 2023, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report. The state reported 25,914 cases of crime against women in 2023, which is the sixth highest in the country. Odisha also topped the list in 2023 with 761 women-related cybercrime cases, including offences like sharing sexually explicit content, blackmail, defamation, morphing, and fake profiles. It recorded 9,367 cases of assault on women with intent to outrage modesty, the fourth-highest in India.