Man arrested for sexual assault of stepsons, Delhi cops say repeat offender

The man, who works as a housekeeping staffer at a private hotel, lived with his wife and her two sons from a previous marriage at Jagatpuri

The Delhi Police has arrested a 46-year-old man for repeatedly sexually assaulting his stepsons aged 13 and 14 years at their house in east Delhi, officers aware of the case said on Tuesday, adding that the accused was a repeat offender — he was out on bail after being arrested last year for assaulting the older boy.

The Pocso court granted the accused bail within a couple of months, and he returned home to live with his wife and the two stepsons. (Representational image)

Police said the man, who works as a housekeeping staffer at a private hotel, lived with his wife and her two sons from a previous marriage at Jagatpuri, a neighbourhood in Shahdara.

A police officer, declining to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said the man was first arrested last year, when the woman caught him assaulting the older boy.

“She had caught him sexually assaulting her older son, and then got to know that her husband had been assaulting him for a long time. She approached the police, following which we registered a case of unnatural offences and under the Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act,” the officer said.

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The trial in that case is ongoing, but the Pocso court granted the accused bail within a couple of months, and he returned home to live with his wife and the two stepsons.

“The woman had continued to stay with him as she wanted to save her marriage. The man had promised to mend his ways,” said the officer about the reason why the alleged assaulter was able to continue living with the victims.

The man’s alleged return to his old ways emerged late last week when the woman got to know that he had allegedly continued assaulting her older son a few months after returning home. “She asked her children, only to discover that he was allegedly assaulting both children this time,” the officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena said, “We have arrested him again after his mother approached us on Sunday and booked him for committing unnatural offences and under the Pocso Act,” said the DCP.

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The boys, meanwhile, are being counselled, officers said.

This is one of several recent cases in Delhi in which Pocso accused or convicts have been arrested for assaulting minors again.

HT had on August 19, citing data shared by Delhi Police, reported that more than 65% of cases related to sexual offices committed against minors have been pending trial for at least a year, resulting in the release of several offenders on bail.

Experts say delays in the completion of forensic reports and deposition of witnesses, and some victims being untraceable are the reasons for the pendency.

To be sure, repeat offences are also perpetrated by those that have served their sentence fully, pointing to the need to keep track of such criminals, the way some other countries do.

Delhi Police does maintain and publish a registry of convicted sexual offenders for people’s safety. However, the viewership of the list is restricted to those who are aware and those who have access to technology.