Thiruvananthapuram: A Special POCSO Court in Thiruvananthapuram has sentenced a cricket coach to 47 years of rigorous imprisonment in the third sexual assault case against him, taking his effective consecutive prison term to 35 years.

The court on Saturday also imposed a fine of Rs 79,000 on the convict, M Manu (40), a resident of Sreevaraham in Vallakkadavu, for sexually assaulting a minor girl he coached at a prominent cricket academy in the Kerala capital.

The latest sentence will begin only after Manu completes the prison terms awarded in the first two POCSO cases, the court ruled.

Manu had earlier been sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment in the first case and 35 years in the second. However, portions of those sentences—five years in the first case and 10 years in the second—were ordered to run concurrently. With the latest conviction, he will serve an additional 20 years consecutively, bringing his effective jail term to 35 years.

According to the prosecution, the survivor joined the cricket academy in 2018 while she was a Class V student. Investigators said Manu exploited his position as her coach and repeatedly sexually abused her during training sessions.

The case is one of six registered against the coach under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Trials have concluded in four of the cases, with judgments now delivered in the first three.

The verdict in the fourth case is expected on Monday. The court has already found Manu guilty, with sentencing set to follow the pronouncement of the judgment.