# TN court sentences preacher to death for assaulting four minor girls 2026-08-21T04:36:18+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet A special court in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli on Thursday sentenced preacher S. Abraham, 50, to death after convicting him of sexually assaulting four minor girls who attended classes at his prayer hall in 2022. The assaults occurred during school vacation, when Abraham brought the girls to the premises on the pretext of conducting moral science classes. The case came to light after the girls disclosed the abuse to their parents, who lodged complaints with Thevarkulam police. Abraham was arrested on July 5, 2022, and the investigation placed evidence before the special POCSO court. Judge Suresh Kumar pronounced the capital sentence on Thursday. Under criminal procedure, a death sentence by a sessions court cannot be carried out until confirmed by the jurisdictional High Court. The convict is entitled to appeal both the conviction and sentence. ## Indian Opinion Analysis This is a rare capital sentence under the POCSO Act, which since 2012 has provided for the death penalty only in the 'rarest of rare' cases involving aggravated sexual assault of a child. The trial concluded in about four years, relatively quick for such cases in Indian courts. What matters now is the High Court's confirmation hearing, which will examine whether the case meets the Supreme Court's strict criteria for the death penalty: extreme brutality, no chance of reform, and collective conscience shock. The survivors, whose identities are protected, may be entitled to compensation under the POCSO Act or the state's victim compensation scheme. Watch for the High Court's decision on confirmation. ## Coverage - assamtribune.com Straight news agency-style report, no editorialising, leads with the verdict and conviction details. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: POCSO Act, S. Abraham, Suresh Kumar, Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/tn-court-sentences-preacher-to-death-for-assaulting-four-minor-girls/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/tn-court-sentences-preacher-to-death-for-assaulting-four-minor-girls/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/