In yet another blow to the Indian Catholic Church, a priest Fr Robin Vadakkumcherry, convicted for sexually abusing a minor girl and impregnating her, has been given 20 years imprisonment and 300,000 rupees in fines by The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Court, Thalassery in Kerala on Saturday.
The other six accused in the case Thankamma, the church staff, Sr Lis Maria, Sr Anita, Sr Opilia, Fr Thomas Joseph Therakam, Dr Betty Joseph have been acquitted by the court due to the lack of evidence against them.
According to the charge sheet filed against him, the 48-year-old priest Fr Robin while serving as the vicar of a Kottiyoor church in the Southern Indian state of Kerala had sexually abused a minor girl, a girl below 18 years of age and impregnated her in 2016.
During the trial the court heard the statements from around 54 victims, examined 80 documents and seven pieces of evidence.
The prosecution said that they will file an appeal to the higher court against the acquittal of the six accused in the case.
Source: Asianetnews
The news hit the headlines tarnishing the image of the Catholic Church after the victim delivered a baby boy in December 2016. An anonymous call received by the Childline led to the arrest of Fr Robin in February 2017 while he was trying to flee the country.
A case was then registered under the POSCO Act (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) by the Peravoor police when the Childline passed on the information to them.
It was when the father of the victim admitted to raping her, that the case became controversial. Initially, ten people were arrested in the case. However, three people were later removed from the list of the accused.
The trial in the case commenced on August 1, 2017.
During the trial, the victim and her family had revoked their statements saying that the girl was not a minor at the time of their sexual intercourse and that it was with mutual consent.
