India, April 17 -- A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court in Pune on April 11 sentenced a 56-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for repeatedly sexually assaulting his two minor nieces. Special judge D P Ragit, presiding over the case, observed that the accused (mis)used his position as a trusted relative to commit 'heinous' crimes against the girls, aged 12 and 13 years at the time.

The convict is the husband of the victims' mother's stepsister; a man the girls grew up addressing as 'uncle'. The court found that between January and November 2020, the convict exploited his position to lure the girls away from their home in Uruli Devachi on the pretext of buying clothes and other articles fo...