Thane, Mar 21 (PTI) A court has convicted and sentenced a man from Maharashtra's Thane district to 20 years in prison for rape and assault on a seven-year-old girl about six years ago.

In his order on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge from Kalyan P R Ashturkar also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on the 39-year-old convict, a resident of the Ambernath area.

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Special Public Prosecutor Sachin Kulkarni told the court that in July 2019, the man lured the child out of her house under a false pretext, took her to a desolate spot and raped her. He also struck the girl, resulting in a tooth being knocked out, said Kulkarni.

Hearing her cries, a passerby rushed to the spot and caught the man, who was subsequently arrested and booked for rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and assault.

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The court said the prosecution had proved all charges against the man beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced him to 20 years in jail.

Kulkarni said eight witnesses, including the survivor, testified in the court. “The judge found the survivor's testimony compelling and consistent,” he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)