Man sentenced to 51 years for raping nine-year-old girl

An accused who stood indicted with the rape and gential mutilation of a nine year old girl was found guilty and sentenced to 51 year rigorous imprisonment by Kuliyapitiya High Court Judge Manoj Thalgodapitiya.

 

he Attorney General had filed indictments against the accused under six counts.

 

The accused, Edirisinghe Arachchige Chandana Edirisinghe (39), who lived an itinerant life without a fixed abode as a manual worker had been know by aliases as Nimal and Shantha. He had in 2018 taken a nine year old child in the Wellpalla area, to an abandoned coconut land, raped her and caused her grievous injuries by cutting her private parts with a knife, and breaking her teeth.

 

Pannala police who investigated into the incident arrested the suspect and after non-summary proceedings before the Kuliyapitiiya magistrate’s court he had been committed to stand trial before the high court.

 

He had already been convicted of murder and sentenced to death by the Puttlam High Court for causing the death of his son who had been suffering from epilepsy, by burying him alive. He had raped the girl when he was on bail pending judgment on the murder case. 

 

The accused was fined Rs. 20,500 under the six counts and  ordered to serve the  imprisonments under each count severally. 

 

Delivering the sentence, the judge held that the prosecution had established the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubts securing an indictment against him.

 

State Counsel Mahinda Silva assisted by Pannala Police prosecuted while assigned lawyers Amal Ranasinghe and Nandika Amarasinghe appeared for the accused who had not retained a counsel.