Kerala: Rape accused priest surrenders to Crime Branch in Kollam
One of the three Malankara Syrian Orthodox priests, accused of sexually abusing a woman, today surrendered before the police in Kerala's Kollam. Father Job Mathew, the second accused, surrendered before the Crime Branch office in Kollam. This comes a day after the Kerala HC dismissed anticipatory bail pleas of three priests, observing they acted as "predators" and took "undue advantage" of the woman.
Accused approached HC after being slapped with rape charges
The priests, Abraham Varghese alias Sony, Job Mathew, and Jaise K George had approached the court soon after the Crime Branch of Kerala Police slapped rape charges against four of the five church priests.
Audio-clip of church official confirming woman's rape went viral
The Crime Branch registered an FIR against the priests after recording the victim's statement. Last month, her husband had accused the five priests of using his wife's confession to "blackmail" and "sexually abuse" her. The incident came to light after an audio-clip containing the man's purported conversation with a church official confirming his wife's sexual abuse by the priests was circulated on social media
