Accused Then, he agreed.

A man who just started a joyful life with his family. But his life takes a turn and he ends up in a jail due to a rape accusation in which he is implicated although a group of 7 boys is responsible for the fiasco.

Everyone came to court with him that day, except his father.

He was 18 years old, charged with a sexual assault, punishable by up to 13 years in jail.

Often sexual assaults draw notice. His case was one of 1,131 registered in 2017 in the Supreme Court, a place where the judge says the goal is “to correct behavior- to make positive change in our society.”

But his misdemeanor had made the news and made him an object of scorn in the society. It had cost him the newfound family he was looking for after a life in social isolation. It had cost his sense of worth. A step brother who was there yelled: How could you do something like that? Jackie – that’s his pet name, Jackie – didn’t say anything. He just listened, for he knew who’s behind the misery. Although his parents supported him, he doubted himself, wondering if there was something in him that needed to be fixed.

“Perhaps, I am destined to be in jail and spend the productive years of my life in vain.” he began. “I was sentenced 13 years of jail at the age of 18. I had been living without my family since my childhood. My mother and step sister left me when I was 7 years old. My father was a carpenter. He is an alcoholic. My father has children from another mother as well. After my mother left, I was alone. There was no one to look after me. Nakkali aunty from the neighborhood showed little sympathy towards my life.I dropped out from school. Then, I did things to make money to survive. Instead of rehabilitating me, my father encouraged me to earn more money for home.”

“I did all the menial work available in the village from working in other’s field to domestic servant at a house. Then, I started conducting in a local bus. One day, my step sister saw me conducting in a bus. She called me to meet our mother. I felt very happy and content that time. After that, I often visited them. I was introduced to my mother’s relatives too. When my father knew that I was visiting my mother, he became curious to meet her. My sister and I reunited with them. But things once broken, couldn’t be mended. There was always chaos in the family.” he stressed.

“My step sister used to motivate me to study. As I was fond of drawing she used to bring comic books in order to increase focus on study in me. But I told her that school education is a long gone story in my life. My concentration is diverted and all I want is to earn money because I thought money could bring order in my family. I didn’t have proper education. So, I continued to work in local buses. While working as a bus conductor, my friends circle multiplied. Theft, robbery, cheat, weed hunting etc. were common for them. Most folks used Marijuana for pleasure and recreation. There is a proverb in Nepali saying “Sangat Guna ko Fal” which means the kind of relationship you have will definitely shape you. In other words, I started vaping marijuana. It produced a stronger high due to which I could forget my pain for longer hours. Later on, it became a bad habit. I tried to improve by staying away from such friends. But the effect of marijuana had altered my mind and I was addicted.

“One day when I was washing clothes, a group of boys entered my room. They insisted on ingesting marijuana. I denied. A little after 6 pm, we went to a local bus which was parked near my room. The boys were vaping and I was listening to songs. One of the boys threw smoke on my face. Others laughed at me. I kicked the one who threw smoke on me and then I grasped a pipe from him. I was high in seconds. Before it could make me paranoid, I saw a man and a girl stepping in the bus. The man was my step brother. I couldn’t recognize the girl. The ingestion was too strong. After sometime, I could hear one of my friends pulling my hand for redemption. Unfortunately, marijuana had clouded my senses and judgment. It distorted my sense of time. And I lost touch with reality.” He repented.