New Delhi: A special court in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, on Tuesday sentenced a doctoral scholar to five life terms, to be served concurrently, for sexually assaulting minors and posting videos of the acts on the Internet to earn money, officials said.
Victor James Raja, a 35-year-old PhD from Tamil Nadu, was sentenced for five counts of sexual assault with added penetration against minor victims under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, along with a total fine of 6 rupees. 54,000 for various crimes, they said.
The court also ordered him to pay Rs 4 lakh each to his victims, they said.
According to officials, the verdict came almost 14 months after the CBI filed a chargesheet against Raja. The charge was filed in May last year after the CBI arrested him for sexually exploiting eight children aged between five and 18 years and selling explicit videos of these acts on the Internet, they said.
"Acts of sexual exploitation included penetrative sexual assault, digital recording of sexual abuse, criminal intimidation of minor victims, forcing and instigating minor victims to engage in sexual activities with other minor victims and also with the accused," an official said.
In its chargesheet filed before a POCSO court in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alleged that Raja had been sexually abusing a child for the last four years.
"It was further alleged that the accused forced the victims to perform penetrative sexual acts on themselves and other minor children, including a minor girl; clicked photographs and recorded videos; forced them to watch sexual acts with another adult person; they threatened them, post photos and videos on social media and bring more underage girls," a CBI spokesperson said after the charges were filed.
The CBI uncovered his sordid crimes when it found images and videos of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from Interpol's International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.
Forensic analysis using specialized tools led the CBI to Thanjavur district.
"Searches were carried out at the accused's premises which led to the recovery of incriminating electronic devices. The accused was arrested and is in judicial custody," the statement said.
During the investigation, the CBI found that Raja had sexually assaulted eight children, both boys and girls, over a couple of years.
In most of the cases, he allegedly targeted children below 12 years of age, forcing them to perform sexual acts with other children and using them for pornography, the CBI said.
Victor James Raja, a 35-year-old PhD from Tamil Nadu, was sentenced for five counts of sexual assault with added penetration against minor victims under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, along with a total fine of 6 rupees. 54,000 for various crimes, they said.
The court also ordered him to pay Rs 4 lakh each to his victims, they said.
According to officials, the verdict came almost 14 months after the CBI filed a chargesheet against Raja. The charge was filed in May last year after the CBI arrested him for sexually exploiting eight children aged between five and 18 years and selling explicit videos of these acts on the Internet, they said.
"Acts of sexual exploitation included penetrative sexual assault, digital recording of sexual abuse, criminal intimidation of minor victims, forcing and instigating minor victims to engage in sexual activities with other minor victims and also with the accused," an official said.
In its chargesheet filed before a POCSO court in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had alleged that Raja had been sexually abusing a child for the last four years.
"It was further alleged that the accused forced the victims to perform penetrative sexual acts on themselves and other minor children, including a minor girl; clicked photographs and recorded videos; forced them to watch sexual acts with another adult person; they threatened them, post photos and videos on social media and bring more underage girls," a CBI spokesperson said after the charges were filed.
The CBI uncovered his sordid crimes when it found images and videos of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from Interpol's International Child Sexual Exploitation (ICSE) database.
Forensic analysis using specialized tools led the CBI to Thanjavur district.
"Searches were carried out at the accused's premises which led to the recovery of incriminating electronic devices. The accused was arrested and is in judicial custody," the statement said.
During the investigation, the CBI found that Raja had sexually assaulted eight children, both boys and girls, over a couple of years.
In most of the cases, he allegedly targeted children below 12 years of age, forcing them to perform sexual acts with other children and using them for pornography, the CBI said.
