A Transgender is accused of sexual assault on a 16-year-old boy. Police report that this incident took place 7 years ago.
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It has become more common for children and women to be sexually abused in recent days. Youthful people, from infants to people below 18 years of age, are generally considered to be children. The innocence and childhood of these people make them favorite victims of lawbreakers. This case is one of the analogous situations.
For the first time in Kerala, a transgender is accused of sexual harassment of a juvenile before 7 years.
The Verdict:
Sachi Samson alias Shefina is a 34-year-old trans woman who used to work in Technopark and resides in Anathalavattom near Chirayinkeezhu. Special Judge Aaj Sudharsan sentenced the accused to six years of imprisonment and Rs. 25000 in forfeiture for the crime in Thiruvananthapuram Fastrack court on February 6.
“Another year of imprisonment will be added, on the failure of fine payment.” the court declared.
Case details:
R.S. Vijay Mohan, Special Public Prosecutor, M. Mubeena, and R.Y. Akhilesh, lawyers, appeared for the execution. During the trial, it was reported that this incident took place 7 years ago when the accused was a man. They said, “In 2016, on February 23, the man met the boy on a train from Cheriyinkeezhu to Thiruvananthapuram and became comfortable with the boy.” The victim was taken to the Tambanoor Public Comfort Station and endured an unnatural sexual assault. The accused hovered over the child to come on, as originally the boy refused.
The juvenile did not disclose the incident to anyone, as he was scared of the torture. Perhaps, this incident came to the scene by the child’s mother through messages on Facebook messenger.
The accused kept on pestering the victim by making phone calls several times, which the boy kept refusing. The mother noticed the boy messaging frequently and avoiding attending phone calls; she also observed that the boy became uncomfortable while talking on phone calls. Later, the accused started messaging on Facebook Messenger, as the number had been blacklisted by the child.
The Trap:
The incident took a turn when the child’s mother got to see the messages, as the victim’s Facebook account was tagged on the mother’s phone. The boy revealed everything when the mother interrogated him, and a police complaint was filed against the man.
The accused was brought to Tambanoor, and the accused’s mother replied to him and sent messages as per the guidelines of the police. The accused was taken into police custody in Tambanur, eight months after the incident.
S. P. Prakash, Sub Inspector of Tambanur police station investigated the case. 12 documents were submitted in court. During the trial, seven witnesses were examined by the prosecution.
Sachi Samson alias Shefina was found guilty under Section 377 (unnatural offenses) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3(d) (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offense (POSCO) Act.
The accused, who has undergone gender affirmation surgery during the trial, is sent to the Attakulangara women’s prison, where she will be put in a special cell. She is later to be imprisoned at a special transgender jail in Malampuzha, Palakkad.
