Church priest held for sexual abuse in Kumari

MADURAI: Benedict Anto (29), a church priest, who was on the run after obscene videos and pictures of him with some women went viral on social media, was arrested by a special team of the Kanniyakumari police on Monday.

Benedict, a resident of Fathima Nagar in Vilavancode in the district and preached sermons in churches in Kanniyakumari district. A few days ago, an 18–year-old nursing student from Pechiparai lodged a complaint with district cyber crime branch seeking action against the priest.

The victim was allegedly subjected to sexual abuse and received threats on social media. Based on the victim’s complaint, police registered a case against the church priest Benedict under five different sections and launched an investigation. Fearing that the police would arrest him, he went into hiding.

Based on instructions of Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu and South Zone Inspector General of Police Asra Garg, four special teams were formed to arrest the priest. He returned to Parvathipuram in Nagercoil after travelling to various places in Bengaluru and parts of Kerala. Special teams, which got a tip off about his return to the district, rushed to Parvathipuram and arrested him.

After seizing his cell phone and other evidence, the police produced him before a Nagercoil court, which remanded the church priest to judicial custody. Four other women have also lodged complaints against the priest, sources said.