Thiruvananthapuram | A court here on Saturday sentenced a cricket coach to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 79,000 for sexually assaulting a minor student under the pretext of coaching.

Fast Track Special Court Judge Anju Meera Birla convicted Manu M (40), a native of Sreevaraham here, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for sexually assaulting the student in 2018.

Though the court awarded a cumulative sentence of 48 years' rigorous imprisonment under various provisions, it directed that all the substantive sentences would run concurrently.

Accordingly, the effective sentence in the case is 20 years' rigorous imprisonment.

The court also directed that the sentence in the present case would commence only after the completion of the sentences in two other cases in which Manu has already been convicted.

Those sentences are scheduled to end on July 4, 2039.

The court granted the convict a set-off of 722 days, covering the period from July 6, 2024 to June 27, 2026.

The court also found Manu guilty in another case under the IPC and the POCSO Act on Saturday.

The sentence in that case will be pronounced on June 29.

A total of six cases were registered against Manu at the Cantonment police station after the alleged sexual abuse came to light in 2024, following complaints lodged by students he coached.