A MAN was caught on a CCTV camera as he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl who was sitting beside her mum in a cinema.

Kankunnathu Moideenkutty, 60, was reportedly arrested on Saturday after the tape of the vile abuse was discovered by the owner of the theatre in Kerala, India.

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The girl's mother, who has two older daughters, was taken to a police station for questioning while the child is in the care of a rescue home, according to .

Moideenkutty, who is reported to be a businessman who owns jewellery shops in Thrissur, has already admitted guilt, the reports.

But police have come under fire for failing to act sooner after it was revealed authorities were handed the CCTV footage on April 26.

The cinema owner discovered the video of the assault, which reportedly showed the man abusing both the mother and daughter continuously throughout the movie on April 18.

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They contacted the charity Childline - who then approached the cops - but Moideenkutty was only arrested after the clip was picked up and aired on TV on May 12, according to .

According to Gulf News, a police inspector has been suspended from the force for his failure to act sooner.

Moitheenkutty has been charged with the use of criminal force with the intent to outrage a woman's modesty as well as sexual assault.

A member of Childline, known only as Anwar, told that he informed police "the very next day" after being given the CCTV.

He added: "We delayed it by a day to thoroughly check the visuals, considering the severity of the case. It's a three-hour video, the theatre guys found it.

"We had checked the entire footage. He was abusing the mother and child at the same time, that too continuously from the beginning to the end.

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"During the movie interval, he stops, goes out and then comes back to resume the sexual assault. After informing the police, we approached them every day to follow up.

"We waited till Saturday as we thought that the police should be given time to trace him. Still they didn't act."

A source, who did not want to be named, told the outlet: "[Moitheenkutty's] influence as a rich businessman might have prompted the police not to take [the] case against him."

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