Death penalty for couple in India who sexually assaulted 33 children
According to the CBI, the couple lured their victims by offering them access to online video games, as well as money and gifts.
A procession passes by a banner put up against sexual exploitation and violence against girls
(AFP) - An Indian court has sentenced a couple to death for sexually assaulting 33 children, some as young as 3, and selling videos of the abuse on the dark web, authorities said.
Some of the victims had to be hospitalized for genital injuries caused during penetrative sexual assaults, according to a statement released Friday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and shared by the media.
The crimes were committed between 2010 and 2020 in Banda and Chitrakoot districts in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
"During the investigation, the accused were found to have committed various perverse acts, including grievous sexual assault with penetration against 3 male children," the source specified.
A special court handed down death sentence against the couple and ordered the state government to pay damages of 1 million rupees ($11,021) to each of the victims.
The judgment can be appealed to a higher court.
According to the CBI, the couple lured their victims by offering them access to online video games, as well as money and gifts.
The couple also recorded the abuse and sold the videos and photos on the dark web to customers in 47 countries, according to The Times of India.
In India, the latest executions date back to March 2020, when four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a woman on a bus in Delhi in 2012 were hanged.
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