Bulathwalage Rexy Tennyson Fernando alias Bulathwalage Rexy Tennyson alias Semson alias Bulathwalage Tennyson Trexy Fernando vs Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Chilaw – HCC 91/2020-2023

In The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka v. Bulathwalage Rexy Tennyson Fernando alias Semson alias Bulathwalage Tennyson Trexy Fernando, the court examined the propriety of a conviction and sentence for Grave Sexual Abuse under Section 365B(2) of the Penal Code, involving a child under sixteen. The principal issue concerned whether the evidence, particularly the testimony of the child victim and corroborating medical evidence, was sufficient to sustain the conviction, and whether the trial judge properly differentiated between rape and grave sexual abuse. The appellant challenged the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence, investigative shortcomings, and the proportionality of the sentence. Upon review, it was determined that minor inconsistencies did not undermine the child vi