Repeat child rapist gets remainder-of-life jail term in third child rape case

Special Judge Surekha A Sinha held that although the accused, Sandesh Tanaji Thorat, had served prison terms twice after being convicted for raping minor girls, he still posed a serious threat to society

MUMBAI: A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court on Thursday sentenced a 34-year-old man found guilty of rape for the third time to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, invoking the rarely used section 376E of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with repeat rape offenders.

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Special Judge Surekha A Sinha held that although the accused, Sandesh Tanaji Thorat, had served prison terms twice after being convicted for raping minor girls, he still posed a serious threat to society.

The sentence was pronounced after the court found Thorat guilty of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl in Chembur in October 2022, after luring her to the terrace of a building on the pretext of searching for a missing child. The prosecution had proved its case through the testimony of the child, independent eyewitnesses, the man who caught the accused while he was fleeing, and medical, forensic and documentary evidence, the court said.

The court noted that Thorat had previously been convicted in two separate rape cases involving girls below the age of 12 years and he had adopted the same modus operandi in both instances. He was also facing trial in another child sexual offence case registered at Deonar police station barely a month before he raped the nine-year-old girl in Chembur, “...which shows, conduct of the accused that he is a habitual offender”, the court said.

Holding that the case warranted enhanced punishment for a repeat offender, the court sentenced Thorat to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life under section 376-E and directed that all substantive sentences run concurrently. The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority, Mumbai, to award compensation to the survivor in accordance with law.

The court rebuked the prosecution’s initial handling of the trial, which is rare. It noted that Special Public Prosecutor SS Shamkuwar, who was initially conducting the case, repeatedly filed evidence-closure pursis without examining material witnesses, forcing the court to reopen the prosecution evidence to summon them.

This “shows the conduct and negligence by the Ld. SPP”, the judge said. The trial was subsequently argued by Special Public Prosecutor Jyoti Sawant, who completed the prosecution’s case and addressed the final arguments.

According to the prosecution, Thorat approached the child while she walking by, falsely claimed

that another child was missing and sought her help before taking her to the terrace of a building and sexually assaulting her. An eyewitness to the incident raised an alarm and local residents nabbed the accused while he was attempting to flee and later handed him over to the police.