PESHAWAR: A local court on Tuesday handed down life imprisonment and around Rs1 million fine to a private school’s principal after convicting him on multiple charges of sexual offences, including rape, seduction and blackmailing of women.

District and sessions judge Mohammad Younas pronounced that the prosecution’s charges against the accused, Attaullah Marwat, stood fully proved by the way of ‘convincing and confidence-inspiring’ evidence, which also came from independent witnesses having no ill will towards him.

He, however, acquitted him of child pornography, child abuse and child seduction under sections 48, 50 and 53 of the Child Protection and Welfare Act, and Section 377-B (sexual abuse of child) of the Pakistan Penal Code after the prosecution claimed that all his victims were adults and not children.

Local court however acquits him of other charges

The court observed: “Such act of the accused certainly falls within the domain of fasad-filarz (mischief on earth) as the society especially the females/ women are not safe from the clutches of the accused which the accused has himself admitted by way of voluntary and true confession in the court of judicial magistrate.”

The accused was indicted in Jan on multiple counts but he had pleaded not guilty.

In the 24-page judgment, the court pronounced his conviction on eight counts under different sections of Pakistan Penal Code.

However, the court ruled that the sentences would run concurrently. It pronounced that the accused was awarded life imprisonment, Rs200,000 fine under PPC’s Section 365-B (seducing or forcing of adults into illicit intercourse); life imprisonment and Rs300,000 fine under PPC’s Section 377 (unnatural sexual offence); 25 years imprisonment and Rs100,000 fine under Section 354-A PPC (stripping woman of her clothes); 20 years imprisonment and Rs200,000 fine under PPC’s Section 376 (rape); two years imprisonment and Rs10,000 fine under PPC’s Section 354 (assault against women to outrage their modesty); four years imprisonment and Rs20,000 fine under PPC’s Section 497 (adultery); two years detention and Rs100,000 fine under PPC’s Section 509 (sexual harassment), and two years jail term and Rs10,000 fine under PPC’s Section 498 (enticing of married woman).

The accused, who was also the school’s owner, was arrested after the Hayatabad police registered a case against him on July 14, 2017, on the complaint of a former male student, who accused him of sexually exploiting students and women and making their objectionable videos through secret cameras installed on campus.

One of the charges against the accused was that he had on multiple occasions and habitually enticed and compelled many women of different ages to have illicit sexual relation with him on campus.

He was also accused of raping many women after obtaining their consent by issuing them death threats.

Following arrest last year, the accused had recorded his confessional statement before a judicial magistrate on July 19, 2017.

He only admitted to bringing women from outside to the school for adultery but also said it was his hobby to make videos of those sexual activities.

He had admitted that 26 such videos which he had filmed were available in his computer.

The former student had told the police that the accused had sexually exploited students, teachers and some outsider women but nobody reported the exploitation out of fear.

The police said in the FIR that when they raided the school, the accused tried to conceal his two cellphones, which had several objectionable videos.

They added that the accused had used the school’s three rooms for the purpose.

The police also said they had recovered memory cards and USBs, which carried videos with the accused’s sexual activities.

Initially it was alleged that the principal had also recorded videos of students but later, the prosecution didn’t press that charge saying it didn’t have evidence of child abuse by the accused.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2018