Balasore, Dec. 27 -- Special Judge POCSO Indira Priyadarshini on Saturday convicted a 50-year-old man for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl and sentenced him to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a Rs 10000 penalty.
The judge also ruled that Saroj Narayan Tripathy, the convict, a resident of Deokhand, Durgadevi under Remuna police station limits, would serve another 6 months' jail term in case he failed to pay the fine amount.
Special Public Prosecutor Pranab Kumar Panda said the convict, a priest, committed the offence on April 24, 2025, in the pretext of removing an evil spirit from her body in a lonely room of her house.
The family members of the victim lodged an FIR with the police after the girl narrated her ordeal.
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