Balasore, Oct. 28 -- A Special POCSO Court in Balasore today convicted a 26-year-old man and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl.
Special Judge (POCSO) Indira Priyadarshini also imposed a fine of Rs.15,000 on the convict, Jyoti Ranjan Behera, a resident of the Sahadevkhunta area. In default of payment, Behera will have to undergo an additional 13 months of imprisonment.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda, Behera had sexually assaulted a 15-year-old schoolgirl after blackmailing her with objectionable photographs.
He had threatened to make her nude photos public and even uploaded some of them on social media.
The matter came to light when the victim's mother lodged a complaint...