Thiruvananthapuram | A 34-year-old transgender was on Monday sentenced to seven years in prison by a POCSO court here for sexually abusing a minor boy in 2016.

Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court judge Aaj Sudarsan, also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Sanchu Samson hailing from Chirayinkeezhu in the district.

Special Public Prosecutor, R S Vijay Mohan, said it was for the first time, a transgender was convicted in the state in connection with such a case.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on February 23, 2016 when the accused met the boy on board a train to Thiruvananthapuram.

The accused took the 16-year-old boy to the public comfort station and abused him.

The incident came to light after the mother of the boy noticed that Samson was constantly threatening him over WhatsApp and Facebook messages, to meet again.

The police were alerted, who in turn lured the accused to the state capital and arrested him.

During the trial, Samson underwent a transition process and changed gender.

The accused had argued that during the time of the incident, he was a transgender.

However, the prosecution produced the potency test result taken soon after the incident had occurred.