MADURAI: The Tirunelveli special court for Pocso cases on Thursday sentenced a 47-year-old preacher to death for each of four sexual assaults committed against four minor girls over nearly two years in the district. The court also ordered compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each victim.According to the prosecution, S Abraham, the preacher, sexually assaulted the girls at his church during music classes and at deserted places in their neighbourhood.The abuse came to light in 2022 after an eight-year-old girl from Thevarkulam complained of pain in her private parts. Her mother took her to a hospital, where she learned that the child had been sexually assaulted. After the disclosure, three other girls from the same extended family told their mothers that Abraham had sexually assaulted them too. The girls, aged between 11 and 12, were relatives of the first complainant.Police said Abraham had taken the girls to isolated places on the pretext of teaching them Bible and music. “The assaults allegedly began during Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and continued until the eight-year-old revealed the abuse in 2022,” said Tirunelveli SP Vishwesh Balasubramaniam Shastri.Abraham had threatened the children with harm if they revealed the assaults to anyone, police said. Abraham was arrested under the Pocso Act in 2022. The trial later gained momentum after the Tirunelveli police introduced a ‘case officer’ scheme in 2026 to expedite pending Pocso cases by assigning each to a designated team. The case was assigned to a team headed by additional superintendent of police K Shanmugham. Police said the case was brought to conviction within six months, with its progress reviewed weekly.The team and special public prosecutor P Usha also assisted the witnesses ahead of their testimony and cross-examination. “Medical evidence collected during the investigation by officer Radha was among the evidence relied upon by the prosecution to establish penetrative sexual assault. The four girls, their parents and other witnesses testified during the trial,” said Usha.Judge Suresh Kumar found Abraham guilty and awarded the death penalty on each of the four counts.
