Kerala Priest Convicted Under POCSO For Rape & Impregnating 16-Year-Old Expelled By The Vatican
In what is probably the first such instance in India, a Catholic priest has been expelled by the Church from its ranks after he was found guilty in a rape case.Robin Vadakkumchery, who was a priest of the Mananthavady diocese in Kerala was expelled from the Church by Pope Francis.?
Vadakkumchery was defrocked by the Vatican on the basis of a report submitted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome in December."From now on, he won¡¯t have any priestly rights and duties," Fr. Jose Kocharakkal, the PRO of Mananthavady Diocese said.?
He was already suspended from priestly duties since 2017 after the rape allegation surfaced.Vadakkumchery is currently serving a 20-year jail term awarded to him by a POCSO court in Kerala which also slapped him a fine of Rs 3 lakhs for the rape of a girl who was 16 years old at the time.?
Vadakkumchery, who was the manager of a church-run school where the victim was a Class VII student was accused of raping her multiple times in May 2016.The case came to light only in February 2017 after the Childline got an anonymous tip-off last week that the victim had given birth to a boy child.?
Sinister cover up?
Ever since the allegations surfaced there were accusations of an elaborate coverup by Vadakkumchery and several others in the church's ranks.Vadakkumchery had allegedly offered Rs 10 to the father of the victim to take the blame and tell the police that he had raped and impregnated his daughter.?
A church-run hospital was also accused of covering up the crime and allowed a secret delivery, immediately after which the newborn boy was shifted to an orphanage.?
Six people including five nuns and an administrator who was accused of covering up the incident were acquitted due to the lack of evidence by the POCSO court.?
Even during the trial, there were attempts to save Vadakkumchery with both the parents and the victim turning hostile.The girl had even told the court that she was not a minor at the time of the incident and that the sex was consensual.?
The Thalassery court, however, took the DNA evidence that established that Vadakkumchery is indeed the father of the child and birth certificate of the victim that proved that she was a minor at the time convicted and sentenced him under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in February 2019.The court also ordered initiating criminal proceedings against the girl's parents for covering up the crime.?
According to Church authorities, the decision to defrock Vadakkumchery, who once held an editorial post at Deepika, the Malayalam mouthpiece daily of the Catholic Church is in line with the "zero tolerance" announced by Pope Francis for clergy who sexually exploit children.?
It also comes at a time when the Catholic Church in India is facing several sexual assault charges. The most high profile of them being the rape allegation against Franco Mulakkal the now suspended Bishop of Jalandhar.?
In 2018, a nun, who is also from Kerala, but was serving in a convent under him in Punjab had accused Franco of raping her multiple times. Even as a petition filed by Mulakkal seeking his discharge is pending before the court, last month another nun had given a statement accusing him of making sexual remarks and kissing her.
