Vavuniya Sinhala homeguards sentenced for aiding rape of minor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 September 2004, 12:14 GMT]
Two homeguards from a Sinhala village six kilometres east of Vavuniya were each sentenced to three years of rigourous imprisonment Tuesday for aiding and abetting the rape of a thirteen year old girl. The homeguards, husband and wife, had abducted the child from her home in the village of Kachchakodi where the couple were employed as auxillaries to Sri Lankan security forces during the war in 1999.

Vavuniya High Court judge, Mr. J. Visvanathan, sentenced the man accused of raping the girl, Mr. Lokupathiranalage Dayananda alias Sanath who is the woman homeguard's brother, to three years rigourous imprisonment (RI) for abducting the child and 12 years RI for raping her.

The incident took place on 18 March 1999 in Kachchakodi.

The homeguards Mr. Velathage Jeyasingha and his homeguard wife, Ms. Anusha Kumari, were also accused of hiding the girl in Thirapane, a village near Anuradhapura.

The judge asked the accused to pay 10000 rupees (98 USD) as compensation to the girl or to do an extra year of RI if he failed to make the payment.