BishopAccountability.org
	Winnipeg Sikh Who Kidnapped Alleged Molesters Spared Jail World Sikh News September 4, 2008 http://worldsikhnews.com/3%20September%202008/Winnipeg%20Sikh%20who%20kidnapped%20alleged%20molesters%20spared%20jail.htm WINNIPEG: A member of a small Sikh sect who claims he was repeatedly sexually abused for years by priests at a Winnipeg temple has been spared jail time after kidnapping two of his alleged abusers while armed with a sword. The 26-year-old, who pleaded guilty to two counts of forcible confinement and a single count of assault causing bodily harm, was sentenced last Tuesday to a suspended sentence and a year of supervised probation for his crimes. Judge Catherine Carlson said a conditional discharge would send a message to the public that it endorsed vigilante justice. "I am sympathetic to your situation ... but the court simply cannot sanction individuals taking the law in any way into their own hands and confronting the perpetrators in a threatening way." The incident dates back to December 2006, when the man entered the Gurdawara Nanaksar in an effort to confront the priests there for allegedly sexually abusing him for as many as seven years up until he was 15. He was armed with a ceremonial sword, which he maintains he was carrying out of religious tradition, and not as a threatening weapon. The man then forced the priests into a vehicle and drove them to his parents' home, where he hoped to have them admit to the alleged sexual abuse while his mother and sister listened. The judge heard that the man asked one of the priests, "Do you remember how many times you did that to me?" - a question met with a sarcastic reply. The man then lunged toward the priest, who had his finger caught in a bracelet, causing him to break it. Police were called and the incident ended without further violence. Police later brought forward multiple sex-abuse-related charges against three of the temple's priests after the man made a formal statement to police. Those charges are still before the courts, and a preliminary hearing is set for November. The allegations have shocked and divided the Sikh community.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.