Indian-American teacher heads to jail for sex with minor

... "A former Indian-American principal of a New York Montessori school has surrendered to authorities to begin a two-to-seven-year prison term for sex with one of her 13-year-old students ...

Lina Sinha, 46, was found guilty of the crime five years ago, but had stayed out of the jail with a wide variety of appeals... " ...

Click here to read the full report on IANS

Goa girl attempts suicide after molester gets bail

... "she was molested in January by a 45-year-old art teacher Kanhaiya Naik. The attempted suicide came less than a fortnight after Naik was released on bail by the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court this month." ...

Click here to read the full report by IANS (Indo Asian News Service)

French Diplomat Arrested for Allegedly Raping Daughter

Bangalore, 19 June 2012:  French Consulate official, Pascal Mazurier, accused of raping his three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, was arrested here today.

Click here to read full report on DNA India.

Click here for 2013 update on this case.

Child protection bill hailed as a step forward

" ... Bureaucrats first drew up this bill in 2005. Even now, the legislation was passed at the last minute by a voice vote on the last day of the budget session of Parliament.

Until now, India hasn’t had a specific law to protect children from sexual offenses, despite being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child since 1992. Although sexual offences are covered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the law currently doesn’t distinguish between adult and child victims. ... "

Click here to read the full article at The Wall Street Journal.

Nod for bill to protect children from sexual abuse

... “The Bill is gender-neutral. It seeks to protect children from sexual offences and the burden of proof will be on the accused,” Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said....

Click here to read full article at The Hindu.

Rajya Sabha passes bill to protect children against sexual abuse

... "Ignoring concerns expressed by child rights activists on the age of consent being increased from 16 to 18 years, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill. The bill provides for special courts and stringent punishment including life imprisonment for sexual assault against a minor but it also seeks to criminalize teenage sex, making any intercourse below 18 years of age an offence. " ...

Click here to read full article at Times of India.

Bangalore orphanage in dock over sexual abuse of young girls

Excerpts:

" ... Junior girls in Muslim Orphanage, the state’s biggest orphanage run by the Waqf Board, have been found to be sexually abused by their seniors under the patronage of some of the orphanage staffers. This shocking revelation has been made following visit by a team, led by State Minority Commission (SMC) chairman Anwar Manippady and members of the commission and Women & Child Welfare Department (WCWD), which inspected the orphanage located near Commercial Street on December 31.

" ... the manager, identified as Ashraf, is a habitual offender and has also been harassing an ex-inmate of the orphanage regularly.

" ... The commission’s report ... has recommended the termination of service of the entire existing staff of the orphanage, and the filing of criminal charges against them for allowing the junior girls to be sexually exploited.
The SMC has also demanded that the government hand over the administration of the orphanage to the WCWD.

"The inspection team also found large-scale misappropriation of funds allocated for the running of the orphanage.

" ... Waqf Board chairman Riyaz Khan rubbished SMC’s report, saying the inspection was done to tarnish the image of the board and its members. “It’s all being done since the commission members have not been elected in the board,” he said."



Click here to read full report by DNA, 6 January 2012