39-year-old Kerala woman files rape case against Malankara Orthodox Church priest

First Point
July 10, 2018

https://www.firstpost.com/india/39-year-old-kerala-woman-files-rape-case-against-malankara-orthodox-church-priest-4706821.html

A 39-year-old woman has filed a rape case against a priest of a Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala.

The woman accused the priest Binu George of raping her four years ago at Alappuzha district.

George is serving under the diocese at Koypallikaranma. The complainant said George sexually assaulted her at the office of the church when she approached him for help to settle some family dispute in 2014.

In her complaint to the police, the woman said she informed church authorities soon after the incident and was promised she would not face any further harassment. However, when George continued to torment her and spread "baseless gossip" she decided to take legal recourse, police said.

According to a report in News18, Thiruvanathapuram circle inspector K Sadan said, "He called the victim to his office saying that he needed to discuss with her about some family matters. However, he raped her. We have registered a case of rape."

In June, a man from Pathanamthitta district accused five priests of the Malankara Orthodox Church of using his wife's secret confession to blackmail and sexually exploit her.

The sexual abuse allegedly by the priests came to light after an audio clip of the victim's husband's purported conversation with a church official claiming rape of his wife by the clergymen was widely circulated on social media.

The crime branch of the state police recently registered an FIR and slapped rape charges against four of the five priests after recording the woman's statement. Days later, the Catholic church in Kerala was hit by a scandal with a senior nun accusing Bishop Franco Mulakkal, the head of the Latin diocese of Jalandhar of raping her and filed a case with the Kuravilangad police.