New Delhi: No parent can stoop so low as to level false allegations that their child has been sexually assaulted, a Delhi court has said while awarding 10 years jail to a 26-year-old person for raping a minor.

Additional sessions judge Sanjay Sharma made the observation while rejecting the plea of the accused that the 10-year-old girl’s mother had borrowed some money from him and when he asked her to repay, she implicated him in the case.

“Since no defence evidence was led by the accused on payment of any money and neither the amount nor the date was disclosed by him, this defence cannot be believed or accepted. No parent of a young daughter can stoop so low so as to bring defame, dishonour and put her to disrespect with such serious allegations. Hence, this defence cannot be accepted or even believed,” the court said.

The court said that it has been proved that convict Sonu, a resident of Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh, had taken his minor neighbour to his room and sexually assaulted her in June 2014 and noted that he had committed a similar act with her previously.

According to the prosecution, the incident took place when the child was sleeping along with her family in the open area of her house in north east Delhi and the accused woke her up and asked to accompany him to his room.

When the girl refused, he gagged her and took her to his room and raped her, it said, adding that when the victim’s mother and brother heard her sounds, they searched for her and found her in the youth’s room and the police was informed.

The court said that the girl was the main witness whose version was corroborated by her family members. It said though the girl was 10 years old at the time of the incident, she had coherently deposed about the incident and supported her version given to the police and the magistrate.