By Colombo Telegraph –
The child abuse case against Chief Buddhist monk of Thames Buddhist temple Ven. Pahalagama Somaratana had started proceedings at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday.
The monk who was intially charged with one count of rape of a female under 16 and three counts of indecent assault during his tenure at Chiswick temple in1977 and 1978 .Subsequently on Friday, 11 November he was further charged with 8 counts of Indecent assault on a female under 14 between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1986 at an address in Croydon,London Metropolitan police told Colombo Telegraph.
Court sources told the BBC, that the members for the jury were selected before the case began. Both cases will be proceeding together court sources told the BBC.
Related news;
Update: London Buddhist Thero’s Child Abuse Hearing In April
London Chief Buddhist Thero Charged For More Rape
London Chief Buddhist Thero Child Abuse Case – High Commission to represent Thero ?
Update- London Chief Buddhist Thero remanded for rape
London Chief Buddhist Thero, 65, held by rape cops
Gowrie / April 16, 2012
Not only the Srilankan army is full of thugs and rapists but men in yellow rope too. A 65 year old bogus Thero raping a little girl? old enough to be her grand father!..Is this what Mahavamsa teaches them? oh! Buddha! You need to get out of that doomed country and seek refuge in the west, if you haven’t already!….
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Max Silva / April 16, 2012
These kind of news give life to rascals in the caliber of Gowrie.No wonder he hates the Srilankan Army,considering the lashing they got at Nandikadal.Born loosers.If you want more,we have more in store.By the way why don’t you take a tour of the catholic church and see how they are doing?
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Brash / April 17, 2012
Prabha was Hindu
The Cardinal has gone out of his way to be pro Sinhala
Tamils are free to have their opinion
I know for you anything pro Tamil or anti Madamulana means Tiger.
Silvas trying to be Mudiyanses
(Most Mudiyanses not that bad, but these pretenders make it the fascist state it is, silly when both Mudiyanses and Silvas originate in TN)
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Max Silva / April 17, 2012
Brash trash,where did you pop in from?Before commenting on my replies why don’t you get some tuition from Observer or Vasu?You don’t have to worry abut the origins of my name.As far as you are concerned,it’s in the trash can.What a name you got.Brash trash!
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sin ..halavan / April 20, 2012
What is interesting is that the Rajapaksa regime is SCARED to touch anyone (including Tamils) with Western Passports! Sadly decent people like Dimuthu Attygalle, Lalith Kumar Weeraraj, Kugan Muruganathan, Prageeth Eknelygoda and many others who are UNFORTUNATE to hold Sri-Lankan citizenship will pay the price for their courage.
“The main opposition United National Party says that country’s image as is being tarnished as the government lets abductions go on.”
What is there to tarnish?
Sri-Lanka has no image left to tarnish! Anyone even with a half-brain knows that the country is run by a mafia!
It is because people like Ranil Wickremesinghe and the main opposition politicians have NO COURAGE to stand up to the mafia regime, that journalists and human activists are doing the work of the opposition and getting killed. In fact, the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is so spineless that shiver is looking for a spine to run
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sin ..halavan / April 20, 2012
“A separate Tamil Eelam rings in the ears of Tamils living all over the world as a liberation song. The sacrifice of lives and the blood spilt by Tamil people in Sri Lanka would not go waste,”
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koko-jumbo / April 17, 2012
Let us see how the Crown Court judges this affair. If this case takes place in Colombo Magistrate Court, by now many interventions would have taken place and we would have seen “Patali” playing a main role in a hunger strike knowing that the Thero will be bailed out. Like Sri Lankan Judges serving the Fiji government, Sri Lanka should have Brits judging cases where the accuse or the defendant should be a high profile.
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Max Silva / April 17, 2012
Koko,
Still you believe in being slaves of the colonial masters,eh!It seems that the Tamils have fallen to the gutter.Greats like Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and sir Arunachalam will be turning in their graves,seeing the Tamils becoming the slaves of the white man!Get rid of that pipe dream and search your soul!
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Max Silva / April 17, 2012
EXPOSED! Another noble act of a member of the Tamil Tiger diaspora holding a British passport has been uncovered by the police.The brown skinned British citizen,a Tamil claimed to be a human rights activist had entered the island on the pretext of doing research on human rights violations.
The 64 year old Tamil human rights activist had volunteered to help an orphaned 15 year old Tamil girl from Vavunia.The Tamil human rights activist had taken the under aged gullible Tamil girl to a guest house in Vavunia and raped her.Afterwards the Tamil human rights activist had offered to take the innocent girl on a tour of Colombo.
The phony Tamil human rights activist had taken the girl to a lodge in Colombo and raped her numerous times.The police on a tip off had raided the lodge and arrested the criminal who had disguised himself as a human rights activist.The police have recovered sex toys brought down from the UK along with sex stimulating drugs and equipment.Over to you the British high commissioner and human rights activists.
The government must be on vigil to apprehend brown skinned foreign passport holders entering the country,to commit criminal activities and terrorism.Bomba Gunda and the 64 year old Tamil sadist is only the tip of the ice burg.
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Donald J Gnanakone / April 17, 2012
Must be a cousin of Douglas or Karuna. In the Western Province the underage (U-18) Sex Tourism, Child pornography,child prostitution, child trafficking, and child labor is flourishing. This is both boys and girls.
Whether Tamil or Sinhalese the alleged rapist should be punished. 3 years after the war, the Sinhalese soldiers are doing much worst things in the North and the East, on a daily basis. This is a very serious problem for the Tamil girls and women. What we like is the prevention of such daily incidents and not scoring a debating point here with paid government propagandist.
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Max Silva / April 17, 2012
Donald,
Pretty embarrassing for you,eh!Your British passport holder the Tamil human rights activist had been caught with his pants down.You conveniently try to brush off the incident by naming this bugger as being a cousin of Douglas or Karuna.My friend you so called human rights activists,fraudsters have been exposed.Donald without trying to play god,try to reform yourselves.What a joke this is,Tamil Tiger barbarians turned human rights activists.Stop day dreaming on Ealam and do something worthwhile, the rest of your life.
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Rubert vanderkoon / April 17, 2012
Is scoring with paid opposition or LTTE propaganidist OK for you? Because they started the debate here.
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suz / April 17, 2012
why cannot ct provide this type of important news MAX.
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Max Silva / April 17, 2012
If news on the sadist activities of the defeated Tamil Tigers who identify themselves as human rights activists take center stage at CT, they will not visit this site.Even now they are running away with their tails between the legs unable to absorb my onslaught.So i prefer it this way.Let the clowns make their presence felt.I am really enjoying this circus of clowns!
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Rajapaks / April 17, 2012
Not only murder of old monks, even the rape of young girls has come to the temple.
This forced conscription should be stopped, once passed 18 let them chose for themselves.
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suz / April 17, 2012
rape is a rape whoever does it? diaspora cannot do business out of this.
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gamini / April 17, 2012
Child Ordination, whatever Religion is Child Abuse. It is wrong for any society to allow the custody of children to be placed in the hands of unknown individuals how pure they may be, because there are individuals as these and only a miniscule comes to light. I have written to Child Welfare Organisations to canvass for same to prevent Child Ordinations, but these Organisations do not have the will power or the backbone to stand up to it. The action of this high priest is also due to probably being ordained as a child, where he has not had a lay life to enjoy his carnal desires as the founder of the Philosophy, Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha was married at the age of sixteen and left his lay life after enjoying it fully at the age of 29. After marriage also he had been, as all Royalty did was entertained by semi nude dancers, present day caberet in the evening as there was no TV entertainment then. Unfortunately today for the paragons of virtue,Cabaret is a dirty thing. I believe Prince Siddhartha had seen more cabaret, women dancing in the nude, than any modern day youth. Infact the event is described very well that on the night he left the Palace, he had to step over so many women, who were asleep in various postures of nudity. Today the teachings of this great Philosopher is distorted by the Clergy, ably supported by a gullible laity with a Buddhist label who believe they are Buddhists. Lord Buddha never left a Register for any to include as a Buddhist to begin with. That is why he preached, that none is born a Buddhist and his Philosophy is free to any, who wants to practice. His salvation for one to achieve Nirvana is through developing one’s intuitive mind through meditation and not by mere worshipping of Buddha images and making offerings in collecting merit to swell one’s merit account.
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Max Silva / April 18, 2012
Gamini,
It is one those rare occasions that i say that i agree with you.What you are saying is quite right.
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K. C. John / April 19, 2012
Gamini,
I particularly appreciate your concluding statements, beginning with “Today the teachings of this great Philosopher…..”
Thank you.
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Vasu / April 17, 2012
Once your forefathers have done with lions, you as results of sinhala malformations,
Rewrite this bloody mahawamse, this is the biggest disaster
We should protect our children, do not send them to a buddhist temple
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DAS / April 17, 2012
We should not pre-judge the case. British justice grinds slowly but surely.The jury will decide ultimately.
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JANAKI / April 18, 2012
The SL jury has passed their verdict already . No need of evidence . but guilty on allegations . WEll done to all the SL diaspora with brains ????
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gamini / April 18, 2012
An allegation has been levelled at this priest not by a Britisher or a non Buddhist. If that was the case, these Buddhists would have alleged it was an International conspiracy. But the allegation is by a victim of Buddhist faith, who is also Sri Lankan. She has given reasons as to why she delayed in filing suit. It is common knowledge that there are many females of Buddhist faith who accomodate such advances, for financial and carnal satisfaction. It is not a case that the matter has been already judged. Let the proceedings continue and decide later on the findings.
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Dolly Daydream / April 27, 2012
Gamini you say,
” It is common knowledge that there are many females of Buddhist faith who accomodate such advances, for financial and carnal satisfaction. “
True or not ! – How is this comment relevant to the alleged victims who were underage at the time ?
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Nsiri / April 19, 2012
As Gamini said this Pahalagama Somaratane did not have a childhood and was a keep of Hagastota Devananda of Vidyaravinda Pirivena.
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