10 year old’s drawing helped convict her sexual abuser

Two years ago, a man sexually abused his eight year old niece. A Delhi court convicted him on Thursday on the basis of crayon drawings made by the girl.
According to reports the Kolkata girl was abandoned by her alcoholic father after her mothers death and was sent to live with her uncle and aunt in Delhi. But she ran away from the house after her uncle Akhter Ahmed allegedly sexually assaulted her several times. She was found later in a bus.
Ahmed was arrested in June 2016, but his lawyers had denied all charges levelled at him. Even though the girl’s medical examination indicated signs of sexual trauma, she could not be regarded as a “competent witness“.
Things took an turn for the unexpected, when the cops, who had given her a some blank sheets and crayons to keep her busy while they were questioning Ahmed, saw what she had drawn.
In “gloomy” colours, she had drawn an abandoned house, a girl holding some balloons, and a dress lying on the floor.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav regarded the sketches as the child’s impression of her ordeal and said:
“If the elements of this drawing are considered in the background of facts and circumstances of this case, then commission of sexual assault upon her by somebody in her house after undressing her, and it leaving an impression upon her mind, becomes evident… Therefore, I find the child victim to be a competent witness.”