A Delhi court has sentenced a man to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years for sexually assaulting a boy suffering from mental illness in 2014, saying such offences should not be dealt with lightly.

Additional sessions judge Ramesh Kumar said, "Victim in the case is 90 per cent mentally disabled with whom the convict committed penetrative sexual assault. Such offences with a child victim should not be dealt with lightly." The court heard arguments on sentencing against the 50-year-old man, a rickshaw puller, who was convicted under Section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The survivor was found without clothes, unconscious and bleeding under a flyover on May 28, 2014, following which an FIR was registered.

Additional public prosecutor Anju Bharti sought the maximum punishment for the convict.

In its order on November 26, the judge said, "The convict does not deserve any kind of leniency, and accordingly, he is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 20 years." The court also awarded Rs 3 lakh compensation to the survivor.

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