Palakkad (Kerala) | A Kerala court on Friday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for the repeated sexual assault of a minor girl whom he had befriended on social media.

Pattambi Fast Track Special Court judge Satish Kumar sentenced the man to 20 years for the offence of repeated aggravated penetrative sexual assault of a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh on the convict with a direction that the amount, if realised, be paid to the victim, Special Public Prosecutor Nisha Vijayakumar said.

The court also sentenced the man to two years in prison for the offence of house trespass under the IPC.

The man, hailing from Kollam, had befriended the minor girl on social media in 2021 and after they got close, he turned up at her house when her parents were not present and sexually assaulted her, the SPP said.

Subsequently, he showed up at her house several times during that year in the absence of her parents and sexually assaulted her, the prosecutor added.

As his sexual demands began increasing and he started making threats to make the victim comply, she told her parents who in turn informed the police, the SPP said.

A complaint was lodged against the accused in 2022, she said.

The prosecutor said that 21 witnesses were examined during the trial.