Sexual abuse of school girls: City police arrest accused

CHENNAI: City Police arrested a 29-year-old man, a painter for the alleged sexual abuse of three young girls, aged below 10 in the terrace of an apartment in Thiruvanmiyur over several days.

The accused, A Yovan alias John of Arunachalapuram near Adyar used a boy, a classmate of the girls to lure them to the terrace by giving him chocolates and cash.

The boy was not aware of the accused's doings and he will be a witness in the case, police said. Police reviewed more than 30 days of CCTV footage and also created sketch artists to draw a portrait of the accused using the descriptions given by the victims.

Police said that it was tough to zero in on the suspect using the footage as the children did not have clarity on the dates on which they were taken to the terrace by the accused. The children told the police that the man who abused them had an injury mark on his face and had a beard.

Police said that the accused Yovan stayed at his uncle's house and he took the girls to the apartment terrace on several occasions. Neelankarai AWPS (All Women Police Station) registered a case under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) act and arrested the accused. He was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.