New Delhi: A Delhi court has refused to show leniency towards a man convicted of rape as he had proved he had “predatory instincts” and so “cannot be allowed to roam freely and endanger other children”.The convict, Shamshad, had repeatedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old boy in 2020. While in jail, he had tried to sexually assault undertrials too. The court cited a jail superintendent’s report alleging Shamshad’s sexual misconduct behind bars.Sessions judge Sachin Sood said that the convict had showed no remorse and he posed a continuing threat to children, who could fall prey to his “lust”.The court noted that even behind bars, he had allegedly continued engaging in sexual misconduct with undertrials.In June 2020, the 13-year-old approached police with his father, alleging that Shamshad, who lived near his house, had sexually assaulted him repeatedly over three to four months and threatened to circulate his photographs and videos if he disclosed the abuse.The court found that Shamshad had “groomed” the child over three to four months, luring him with motorcycle rides, cold drinks and samosas before repeatedly sexually assaulting him. Prosecutor Shreyas Pragyan said the prosecution’s case was supported by the victim’s testimony, medical evidence and obscene photographs and videos found in Shamshad’s phone.Rejecting the defence’s claim that the photographs and videos were generated using AI, the court convicted Shamshad of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Pocso Act, criminal intimidation and offences relating to using and possessing child pornographic material.It noted the medical evidence that repeated assaults had left the child’s anal sphincter lax.“The offences committed by the convict are barbaric and diabolical as he committed unnatural offence against the victim who was only a 13-year-old child. The trauma of the victim can be well understood,” the court said.The court added that Shamshad’s jail record “reflected unsatisfactory conduct, with at least two punishment tickets issued against him” for alleged sexual misconduct against fellow undertrials in 2021 and 2024.The court convicted Shamshad under Sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC, along with Sections 6, 14 and 15 of the Pocso Act. Judge Sood awarded the victim Rs 10.5 lakh as compensation under the Pocso Act and the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme.