One of four accused priests in Kerala assault case surrenders

Father Joseph Mathew surrendered before the Kollam Crime Branch on Thursday, 12 July. The priest is one of the four accused in the case relating to the sexual assault of women on the pretext of her confessions at the Malankara Orthodox Church.

Father Mathew is the second accused in the alleged rape case. The Kerala Police Crime Branch has named four priests as accused in the case and has booked them under charges of rape and molestation.

#Visuals: Malankara Orthodox Church case: The second accused, Father Mathew surrenders before Kollam Crime branch. Kerala High Court had dismissed anticipatory bail pleas of three priests, yesterday. #Kerala pic.twitter.com/Wokkxb4o3s

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2018

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday had declined the anticipatory bail pleas of Father Sony Varghese, Father Job Mathew and Father Jaise K. George who approached the court after Crime Branch slapped rape charges against them.

Dismissing the anticipatory bail plea, the HC said that prima facie there was sufficient evidence available against the accused priests. The court has reportedly accepted the prosecution’s argument that the woman was raped.

The Crime Branch, which is currently investigating the case, told the court that anticipatory bail should not be granted to the accused priests since it was essential to take them into custody for questioning.

Malankara Orthodox Church case: The second accused, Father Mathew surrenders before Kollam Crime branch. Kerala High Court had dismissed anticipatory bail pleas of three priests, yesterday. #Kerala

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2018

The alleged sexual abuse 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. According to the woman’s statement, the exploitation began in 1999, when she was just 16. Abraham Varghese, who was a seminary student at the time forced himself on her on the pretext of marriage. But even after the two got married to different individuals, he forced her to continue the affair, by threatening to reveal it to her husband.

In 2009, before the baptism of her daughter, the woman confessed about her affair with Abraham Varghese to Job Mathew, who used it to blackmail her.The helpless woman then sought the help of another priest Johnson V Mathew, who was once her classmate. Instead of helping, he also allegedly assaulted her. The fourth priest Jaise K George took advantage of her when she went to him for counselling due to the trauma and sexually abused her.

The DGP directed the Crime Branch to file an FIR and begin a probe after Communist leader VS Achuthanandan wrote to the DGP seeking police intervention. The police was forced to take up the case suo motu after it came under pressure.