NEW DELHI (INDIA)
NDTV
July 16, 2018
By A Vaidyanathan, Edited by Nidhi Sethi
Two of the accused priests were arrested after the High Court rejected the bail applications of three of them last week
After two of the four Kerala priests accused of raping and blackmailing a woman were arrested, the remaining two have approached the Supreme Court seeking protection from arrest. The top court has agreed to hear their pleas tomorrow.
Father Sony (Abraham) Varghese had filed his plea on Saturday, while Father Jaice K George submitted his anticipatory bail application today, their lawyers said. Johnson P Mathew, a counsellor, and Father Job Mathew were arrested after the High Court rejected the bail applications of three of the accused priests last week.
A 34-year-old woman has accused the four priests, based at the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kottayam, of using her confidential confessions to force her into having sex with them. The cycle of blackmail and sexual abuse continued for several years, her husband alleged.
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