The Hindu : Front Page : Jailed for abusing mentally challenged girl

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 15, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Jailed for abusing mentally challenged girl

CHICAGO: Shreya Lal, 21, of Indian origin, was sentenced here on Friday to four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a mentally challenged girl last year.

The man from Lombard near here has also been ordered to register as a ‘lifetime convicted sex offender' on his release from prison.

He was charged with sexually abusing a 20-year-old girl, who has the mental capacity of a five-year-old in June last year.

Lal's attorney John Donahue told DuPage County Judge Daniel Guerin that Lal was mentally ill, and health experts determined that he suffered from “cognitive reasoning dysfunction.” Under the plea agreement Lal has entered into for pleading guilty, he would receive treatment at a correctional centre for neurological, developmental and cognitive problems that stretch back to infancy. He must serve 85 per cent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

According to the complaint, Lal sexually assaulted his victim on June 15, 2009, at his residence after convincing her to come home. He took the victim's cell phone from her and threatened her with physical harm if she reported the incident to the police. Lal has remained in custody since his arrest in June last year.

The victim lives with her mother, who obtained a 2009 protective order on behalf of her daughter against Lal.

— PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page