Bangalore: Court charges French official in sex abuse case

Bangalore: A Bangalore court on Monday framed charges against French consular official Pascal Mazurier, accused of sexually abusing his minor daughter. Pronouncing the order, sessions court judge Shubha Gowdar charged Mazurier for offences punishable under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 376 (punishment for rape) and posted the case to 15 February for fixing the trial date. [caption id=“attachment_1383521” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pascal Mazurier. IBNLive[/caption] Gowdar is also the special judge for offences against children. Before framing charges, the court asked the accused whether he pleaded guilty or not. “I have not committed any offence as alleged. I am willing to face trial,” Pascal told the court. The judge read out the charges framed against him on the basis of prima facie evidence of sexual assault provided by the prosecution. “We will be making an application to the court to charge the accused also under section 377 of the IPC for allegedly performing sodomy on the victim,” public prosecutor BT Venkatesh told IANS. Mazurier, 40, who is on bail, filed an application in the sessions court seeking an order to discharge him from the case on the grounds of insufficient evidence. The case was filed by the consular’s estranged Indian wife, Suja Jones. Police filed an additional charge sheet against Mazurier in January 2013, with a detailed report of doctors who said his daughter was sodomised and raped by the accused for two years. The child was examined by doctors from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans), including a psychiatrist and psychologists. Mazurier was arrested on 19 June, 2012 after police registered a case against him under section 376 of the IPC on a complaint by Jones accusing him of abusing their four-year-old child. She also alleged domestic violence by Mazurier. The Karnataka High Court, however, granted him bail in October 2012 while the criminal case was pending in the sessions court for trial. IANS