Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for molesting 4-year-old niece

High Court has sentenced a man to 20 years in prison, after finding him guilty of molesting his niece, who was four years old at the time.  

Hassan Rasheed, Dhafthar no. 1816, who was charged with engaging in a sexual act with a child of a person’s family, walked free five years ago, when he was issued an acquittal by the Criminal Court. 

The decision was subsequently appealed by the Prosecutor General’s Office with the High Court, which overturned the original ruling on Thursday. 

Hassan Rasheed was found guilty of the sexual abuse of his niece with the unanimous consensus of the three-judge bench which heard the case.  

The bench was composed of Judge Shuaib Hussain Zakariyya, Judge Abdul Rauf Ibrahim, and Judge Mohamed Faisal.  

While the court sentenced Hassan Rasheed to 20 years in prison for the crime, the four years, two months and four days he spent in jail was considered as time served, and he will be required to serve 15 years, nine months and 26 days.