Published Oct 13, 2026 | 6:27 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 13, 2026 | 6:27 PM
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Synopsis: Amid claims that the POCSO case against Thrissur-based influencer Nisha Rapheal for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy was fabricated, the child’s father has denied having any personal enmity with Rapheal. The family has also alleged that Rapheal, reportedly a resident of the same apartment building, exploited the boy during the father’s absence, and that a medical officer was the first to recognise the alleged assault.
In the days since the Keralam Police registered a case under the POCSO Act against Thrissur-based social media influencer Nisha Rapheal over the alleged sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy, social media personalities and sections of the media have rushed to her support, suggesting that the complaint may have been fabricated.
A purported dispute between Rapheal and the boy’s family over two flats has been cited as a possible motive. Several influencers close to her have also questioned the allegation, arguing that she could not have committed such an act because she is a mother of two girls.
The boy’s father has denied having any personal enmity with Rapheal. He said a separate case in which he was briefly arrested and remanded to judicial custody concerned his business and had nothing to do with his neighbours.
“I haven’t even met Nisha. How can there be an issue between us? I am busy with my business and have been living in this rented flat for only the past year. I don’t even have friendships with people in the apartment,” he said.
According to the boy’s statement to the police, the alleged assault took place around the second week of August. He subsequently underwent a medico-legal examination at Thrissur General Hospital.
The father also said he was neither the first person to notice the alleged abuse nor the person who lodged the complaint. He said the matter came to light through a medical officer.
The father said he had been raising his son as a single parent for the past eight years, with support from his elderly mother. “I am the one who drops my child at school and picks him up every day. He missed classes when I was in jail,” he said.
A family member told South First that when the father was arrested, the boy was left in the care of his 80-year-old grandmother, who also had health problems. The family member alleged that Rapheal, reportedly a resident of the same apartment building, exploited the boy during the father’s absence.
The boy remained absent from school for an extended period. The family member alleged that the school failed to establish an adequate support system or inquire into the reasons for his prolonged absence.
“After Nisha began interfering in the child’s life, he became silent. It was only after his father secured bail that the boy was taken to hospitals for counselling. Several counsellors could not identify what had gone wrong. Since he was a boy, the possibility of abuse was not seriously considered during the initial stages,” the family member said.
The family member said a doctor eventually recognised the seriousness of the boy’s silence and traumatic response and alerted the authorities.
The boy, who had once been active and communicative, was now undergoing counselling and had withdrawn from others, refusing to speak to anyone following the alleged incident, the family member added.
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Sexual abuse by women often goes unrecognised, particularly when the victims are children, said Sany Varghese, a clinical psychologist from Kottayam.
“Pedophiles have no gender. We have many cases of female abusers. In this particular case, the accused is an influencer whose survival depends on her social network. The same network could potentially be used for exploitation as well,” she told South First.
Dr. Varghese said abuse by female perpetrators can remain undisclosed for years, with some survivors speaking about their experiences only in adulthood, when the psychological effects of childhood trauma resurface.
“Research also points to differences in reported patterns of sexual offending by women and men. Some female offenders exploit positions of trust and their emotional access to children,” she said.
“Individual motivations vary. Factors such as low self-esteem, social isolation and difficulties in adult relationships may also play a role.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
