KARACHI: A sessions court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for raping a 13-yearold boy.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Abdul Zahoor Chandio, who is also presiding officer of Gender-Based Violence Court (South), found Sunil Anthony, alias Sunny, guilty ofr committing the offence under Section 377 (rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

`In cases involving charge under sections 377 of PPC, the statement of the victim can be sufficient for conviction, provided it is credible and corroborated by other evidence. It is also settled law that the testimony of a victim, especially in cases of sexual offences, holds significant weight. There is no any enmity or malafide at the part of the victim or complainant to falsely implicate the accused and the identity of the accused is also well established, the court observed.

The court also imposed on the convict a fine of Rs30,000, on default of which he would serve additional imprisonment in jail.

According to state prosecutor Irfana Qadri, the prosecution examined eight witnesses, including the survivor. The teenage boy testified before the courtthatonOct30,2023, he was going to his friend`s house when the accused intercepted him, made allegations against him, and dragged him to his house.

The boy said that the convict forcibly committed the offence; however, when he resisted, he was threatened to be killed.

`It is evident that the victim being a teenager of 13 years old boy provided a direct and detailed account of the incident while identifying the accused to be the same.

His testimony remained largely consistent during cross-examination. Said victim boy reported the incident immediately to his mother who then informed his father/complainant, which strengthens the credibility of his evidence,` the court noted.

During the trial, defence counsel denied the accusation and claimed his client`s innocence. He submitted that the FIR was registered with a delay.He argued that the DNA report showed a negative result, which meant his client had no involvement in the crime.

However, the court rejected the defence plea and noted that while the DNA report was negative, the absence of matching DNA did not prove the convict`s innocence, especially when the victim has provided a clear and consistent testimony implicating him.

A case was registered at the Mahmoodabad police station under Section 377 (rape) of the Pakistan Penal Code.