Staff reporter

Mongar dzongkhag court sentenced a 23-year-old man to 20 years in prison for statutory rape.

The convict, Tashi Dawa from Yusungpogola village in Khengkhar, raped the seven-year-old child in a maize mill shed on February 15 this year.

He was arrested on the same day and detained under Gyalpoizhing police custody.

Tashi Dawa had confessed to the crime.

The April 19 judgment stated that he was found guilty of raping the child beyond reasonable doubt based on evidences submitted besides his confession.

The crime is graded a first degree felony with prison term ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment.

The judgment stated that although Tashi Dawa did not have a past criminal record, he was sentenced to 20 years to deter others from committing the crime and to uphold community security.

Although the prosecuting agency, the Office of the Attorney General, requested the court to make the convict compensate the victim, the court exempted the compensation as requested by the victim’s mother.