Thiruvananthapuram | A court here on Thursday sentenced a cricket coach to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 66,000 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 total of 35 years' RI under various provisions, all the substantive sentences will run concurrently.

Accordingly, the effective sentence in the case is 10 years' RI.

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

That sentence is scheduled to end on July 5, 2029.

The court granted the convict a set-off of 725 days, covering the period from July 1, 2024 to June 25, 2026, against the sentence in the present case.

The court also found Manu guilty in another case under the IPC, the Information Technology Act and the POCSO Act on Thursday.

The sentence in that case will be pronounced on June 27.

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.