Abbotsford Hindu Priest Deported to India after Conviction for Sex Crimes against Teen Girls

By Jennifer Saltman
The Province
March 20, 2015

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Abbotsford+Hindu+priest+deported+India+after+conviction+crimes+against+teen+girls/10906954/story.html

The Abbotsford Hindu temple where Karam Vir worked when he committed sex crimes involving two teen victims. He was deported to India after being granted statutory release.

A former Abbotsford Hindu priest convicted of sex crimes against two teen girls was deported to India last month after being granted statutory release.

Karam Vir, 35, was found guilty in May 2013 of two counts of touching a younger person for a sexual purpose and one count of sexual assault. He was sentenced in September 2013 to 2-1/2 years in prison, minus four months of credit for time served.

The incidents that sent Vir to prison took place in 2009 and 2010 while he was employed at a Hindu temple on Walmsley Avenue. Vir made sexual advances toward the two victims, who were 17 years old, after befriending them at the temple. He had intercourse with one girl and attempted intercourse with the other.

In August 2014, Vir was denied day and full parole. In late January of this year he was granted statutory release, which is automatically given to most offenders after they have served two-thirds of their sentence.

A recently released decision from the Parole Board of Canada states that Vir had not made significant progress in his correctional plan and needed improvement in a number of areas.

“Your file indicates that you have no understanding of and that you do not acknowledge having a crime cycle, which makes your manageability in the community challenging,” the decision states.

He is considered an untreated sexual offender, and his risk to reoffend is moderate to low.

Statutory release was granted on Jan. 28 and Vir was taken into custody and deported on Feb. 6. He was due to finish his sentence in October of this year.

Contact: jensaltman@theprovince.com