Palakkad(Kerala) | A Kerala court on Saturday sentenced a 65-year-old man to a cumulative 83 years imprisonment for the repeated sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl who was his relative, at her house near Shornur here.

Pattambi Fast Track Special Court (FTSC) Judge Ramu Ramesh Chandra Bhanu sentenced the man to varying durations of imprisonment under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the IPC for a total of 83 years, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Nisha Vijayakumar said.

However, the man will serve 40 years in prison as that was the highest of jail terms given to the man and sentences are to be served concurrently, the prosecutor said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 4.3 lakh on the convict and said that if the whole or part of the amount was recovered from the man, it should be given to the victim, the prosecutor said.

According to the prosecution, the man repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl at her residence even when her mother and grandmother were around.

He had later threatened the victim with death to prevent her from disclosing the crime to anyone, the prosecutor said.

However, the victim later told about the incident to one of her teachers who in turn informed the school. After this, it was brought to the attention of the child services.

The child services then informed the police and a case was lodged against the man, the SPP said.