THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Feb. 17 -- A special court in Thalassery (north Kerala's Kannur) on Saturday awarded 20-year rigorous imprisonment to Father Robin Vadkumcherry (51), a senior Catholic priest, for sexually assaulting a minor girl for more than four years.
However, the court acquitted six others - four nuns, a priest, and an employee of the orphanage - who faced the charges of covering up the crime for want of evidence. The Pocso (protection of children from sexual offences act) court also ordered criminal proceedings against the victim's parents who turned hostile later.
Though the quantum of punishment is more than 60 years, the priest can serve it concurrently but the court made it clear it should not be less than 20 years. It also i...