Sketch by 10-year-old girl sends molester uncle to 5-year jail

New Delhi, June 15 : Some caricatures drawn by a 10-year-old abandoned girl depicting her ordeal of being sexually assaulted by her uncle led to his conviction by a Delhi court, which said her “so-called saviour” repeatedly ravished her. In a one-of-its-kind case, the court relied on the sketch drawn by the child with the help of crayon colours on white sheet, given to her during the hearing to keep her busy and focused, showing commission of sexual assault upon her by somebody in her house after undressing her.
The court awarded five years imprisonment to the 45-year-old man, a resident of north west Delhi, for the offence of aggravated sexual assault. It said the girl was subjected to sexual assault by the man, but the assault was not penetrative.
“If the elements of this drawing are considered in the background of facts and circumstances of this case, then commission of sexual assault upon her by somebody in her house after undressing her and the said fact having left impression upon her mind becomes evident. Therefore, I find the child victim to be a competent witness,” Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav said.
The court said that a close scrutiny of the drawing through the spectacle of a 10 years old child reveals that she has depicted an abandoned house in gloomy colours, a girl carrying some balloons with intermingled threads and her dress lying removed.
“The plain and simple inference, which a person of ordinary prudence, without even having knowledge of facts of this case would make out that the drawing shows a girl child having intermingled relations and the removal of the dress of that child by somebody having created an impression upon her mind and the girl child having distant dream of a house,” the court said. Meanwhile, the court also directed Delhi Legal Service Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 3 lakh to the child, living in a shelter home, for her welfare and rehabilitation.