Berhampur: A local court Friday awarded a 10-year of rigorous imprisonment to a youth after convicting him of raping a minor.
ADJ-2 POCSO court judge Deepak Kumar awarded the jail-term to Prasant Behera. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 10,000 on him. He would undergo an additional one-year jail, if he defaults the fine, the court ruled.
According to the case diary, the incident occurred October 30, 2016. Behera found the girl alone in her house terrace and outraged her modesty.
The girl narrated her ordeal to family members who brought the matter to the notice of the village committee. When no steps were taken, family members lodged a complaint with the local police November 3 following which police arrested Behera.
The judge pronounced the verdict after examining the statements of several witnesses in the case. Public prosecutor Narayan Panda handled the case on behalf of government.
PNN