AUSTRALIA
The Australian
Doctor ‘saw nothing wrong happening’ at Sydney ashram where children were raped and beaten
JANET FIFE-YEOMANS THE DAILY TELEGRAPH DECEMBER 09, 2014
THE doctor at a Sydney ashram where children were beaten and raped by the guru saw nothing wrong happening, the child sex abuse royal commission was told today.
Dr Henry Sztulman even gave evidence for guru, Swami Akhandananda Saraswati, at his trial for child sexual assault charges because he did not believe the young women who said they were forced to have sex with the swami, the commission heard.
He said that he never saw any evidence that the children were beaten and slapped and had “no idea” that Akhandananda and his second in charge, Shishy, whose name has been suppressed, were having sex even though they slept together in the same room.
Dr Sztulman, who lived at the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain ashram from 1979 for a decade, said he found Akhandananda charismatic and held him in high regard.
“He seemed to be a man of wisdom. He had incredible knowledge of yoga. Those were the things that attracted me,” Dr Sztulman said.
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