India, Aug. 30 -- A Manipur court has sentenced a 58-year-old man to five years in prison for the sexual assault of his step-daughter in 2019.

The girl's mother has also been sentenced to six months in prison under Section 21 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act for not reporting the minor's sexual assault to the authorities. The jail term would, however, be set off against the prison term already served as an undertrial.

R.K. Memcha Devi, special judge of the Pocso Court, said she had ordered the minimum sentence stipulated under Pocso Act because the convict was poor and had young children dependent on him.

"The Accused No.1 committed the offence to a child who looked upon him as a father, for whom he was to...