{"id":39110,"date":"2012-04-19T21:18:31","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T21:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=39110"},"modified":"2012-04-24T10:13:06","modified_gmt":"2012-04-24T10:13:06","slug":"london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/","title":{"rendered":"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Colombo Telegraph –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ven. Pahalagama Somaratana, chief monk of Thames Buddhist Vihara<\/p><\/div>\n

The chief monk of Thames Buddhist Vihara, who allegedly abused his position of trust to sexually exploit two underage girls will\u00a0appear to\u00a0give evidence tomorrow. <\/em>The case against Ven. Pahalagama Somaratana\u00a0had started proceedings at Isleworth Crown Court on Monday and\u00a0continue\u00a0for third day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Court heard that the first victim was abused several times and raped once. She had not complained as a child because of monk\u2019s threats court further heard.<\/p>\n

The second victim described to the court that she remembered \u2018being alone\u2019 in Ven Somaratana\u2019s room on the pretence of discussing upcoming temple services. Describing the placing of furniture in detail, the she stated that it was \u201cno bigger than a box room\u201d. The crown court was told of incidents of abuse when the victim was taken to the bedroom alone with Ven. Somaratana. She told the court that she was given sweets by the monk and abused and she has memories of \u201csitting on his lap\u201d. She continued on describing the alleged sexual abuse that she was subjected to during the course of 2 to 3 years.<\/p>\n

The monk who was initially 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.<\/p>\n

65-year-old Ven. Pahalagama Somaratana, chief monk of Thames Buddhist Vihara at Dulverton Road, Croydon, has pleaded not guilty of all charges.<\/p>\n

To read related stories click here<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":39092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[2554,2552,2549,2553],"class_list":["post-39110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","tag-croydon-rape-case","tag-pahalagama-somaratana-case-latest","tag-pahalagama-somaratana-child-abuse-latest","tag-pahalagama-somaratana-rape-case-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLondon Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-19T21:18:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-04-24T10:13:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"203\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/\",\"name\":\"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-19T21:18:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-04-24T10:13:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg\",\"width\":\"203\",\"height\":\"152\",\"caption\":\"Accused: Venerable Pahalagama Somaratana has been Chief Monk of the Croydon Temple since 1981\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2012-04-19T21:18:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-04-24T10:13:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":203,"height":152,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/","name":"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg","datePublished":"2012-04-19T21:18:31+00:00","dateModified":"2012-04-24T10:13:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg","width":"203","height":"152","caption":"Accused: Venerable Pahalagama Somaratana has been Chief Monk of the Croydon Temple since 1981"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/london-buddhist-monk-child-abuse-case-first-victims-was-threatened-second-victim-was-given-sweets\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"London Buddhist Monk Child Abuse Case: First Victims Was Threatened, Second Victim Was Given Sweets"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/pahalagama-somaratana-thera9-Copy.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39110"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39635,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39110\/revisions\/39635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}