A female habitual offender aged 25 from Kerala has been booked for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl, who is the daughter of one of her friends, the police said on Friday. The accused woman, identified as Sneha Merlin (25), is a resident of Kannur in Kerala.

Incident unfolds few months ago, survivor keeps mum

According to police, the alleged incident took place a few months ago at the survivor’s house in Kasargod, but she kept mum back then. Recently, when she underwent a counselling session, her parents learnt about the sexual assault and informed the cops.

The police registered an FIR against Merlin under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They said Merlin frequently used to visit the family at their house due to her friendship with the girl’s mother.

During one such visit, she allegedly violated the girl, as per police. Senior police officials said she would be arrested soon.

4th POCSO case against Merlin

What came as a shocker was that Merlin was already named in three other POCSO cases registered at the Taliparamba Police station, on charges of sexually assaulting a girl in March 2025 and exploiting two other minor boys.

For the offences registered under the Taliparamba Police’s jurisdiction, Merlin has been charged under Sections 75 (sexual harassment) and 332 (house trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Additionally, the cops have now booked her under Sections 5(l) (penetrative sexual assault) and 9(l) (aggravated sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.

Besides this, the police came to know that Merlin was also involved in other criminal cases. They said they are conducting her background check at present.

Probe underway

The police said they are continuing their probe into the current case while also examining her alleged involvement in other cases. They maintained that they are persevering in efforts to arrest her.