An Australian national was on Wednesday sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment by a district and sessions court in south Goa for his involvement in a sex racket busted in 1991.
District and Sessions Judge A D Salkar convicted Warner Wulf Ingo on charges of sodomy, unnatural sex with minors, abduction and criminal conspiracy.
Ingo (43) was arrested in Sydney and brought to India in 2005 and was charge sheeted by the CBI for his involvement in a massive sex racket involving minor children at Fatorda town, 35 km from Panaji.
The court on Wednesday sent him to 10 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and fine of Rs 5,000, non-payment of which will get him one year RI under Sec 377 of IPC; three years RI and fine of Rs 2,000, non-payment of which will get him three months RI under Sec 363 of IPC; seven years RI and fine of Rs 3,000, non-payment of which will get him three months RI under Sec 367 of IPC.
All sentences will run concurrently, the court ruled.
The accused was an important link in the scam with German national Freddy Peats, who operated the sex racket in Goa until his arrest in 1991, which subsequently led to his conviction five years later.
The scam under the guise of an orphanage was unearthed by local police after child rights groups took initiative in this regard in 1991.
Peats, convicted for supplying children for wealthy European males in Goa, died in 2005 while serving the sentence at Aguada jail in Goa.
"Ingo was one of Peats' clients, who along with others from different nations, were probed for their involvement in the scam," police stated.
The investigating agencies are still on the lookout for Eogha Colm McBride, a New Zealander, who in 2002 was sentenced for seven years of imprisonment for seeking Peats' service and later jumped bail.
Dominique Sabir, a Frenchman, involved in the same racket, and who was also arrested in 1996, too jumped bail subsequently.