A man has been jailed for 10 years for killing and sexually assaulting the British teenager Scarlett Keeling in Goa in 2008. Samson D’Souza was found guilty of “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” by an Indian court on Wednesday.

The court upheld the acquittal of another man, Placido Carvalho. The 15-year-old’s mother said the 10-year sentence was “a year less than it’s taken us to get this far”.

Fiona MacKeown told the BBC she was happy D’Souza had been sentenced to “rigorous imprisonment” – meaning he has to work behind bars. “I just hope he stays inside for that long,” she added.Both men were previously acquitted by a lower court in 2016 after a prolonged trial, but the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appealed against the verdict.

Scarlett’s bruised and partially clothed body was found on Anjuna beach in Goa just after dawn on 18 February 2008. The 15-year-old from Bideford in Devon was on a six-month “trip of a lifetime” to India with her family when she died. The family had spent two months at the Goan resort before travelling down the coast to neighbouring Karnataka – but Scarlett was allowed to return to attend a Valentine’s Day beach party. She was left in the care of 25-year-old tour guide Julio Lobo, Ms MacKeown told media outlets.(BBC)…[+]