The High Court has upheld the conviction and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment awarded to an 83-year-old resident of Aldona for sexually assaulting a minor girl, dismissing his criminal appeal against a 2018 judgment passed by the Panaji Children’s Court.
While rejecting the appeal, the High Court made it clear that the advanced age of the appellant cannot be treated as a mitigating factor in cases involving sexual offences against children. The court observed that it cannot “turn a Nelson’s eye” to the age of the victim and the trauma and ordeal she was forced to endure.
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Reaffirming the findings of the trial court, the High Court noted that the evidence on record sufficiently established the guilt of the accused. It further emphasised that the gravity of the offence and its lasting impact on the minor outweighed any plea for leniency based on the convict’s age.
The ruling reinforces the judiciary’s firm stance against crimes involving sexual abuse of minors and underscores that age cannot be used as a shield to dilute punishment in such serious offences.
