India sentences priest a 40-year sentence for child rape

A Christian priest seemed to have taken to heart the Bible passage “Let the little children come to me,” but for all the wrong reasons and for his own personal agenda.

India has indicted Sanil K. James for the sexual assault and rape of a girl at the Salvation Army church in the southern state of Kerala.

James had raped the girl several times within the church premises in a period of two months, the prosecutors told the court. He is also being investigated for the rape of another girl during the same period.

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“The judge ordered that he should not get remission and also imposed a 20,000 rupee ($295) fine,” reports said.

“He was given two 20-year sentences, one under India’s stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences act and one under a separate section of the criminal law covering the rape of children.”

India’s courts normally award life sentences to rape convicts, however, sentencing James to a 40-year jail time is exceptional, said Smriti Minocha, director of the women’s justice initiative at the Human Rights Law Network, a Delhi-based NGO.

“The court said the priest deserved the maximum punishment for this cruel act,” special prosecutor Pious Mathew told AFP.

READ: How to teach your kids to protect themselves from child molestation

According to reports, sexual abuse in children is common in homes, schools and residential care facilities across India. Records show that authorities have been inefficient bringing offenders to justice.

A report by India’s national crime records bureau say that more than 18,000 children were sexually assaulted in 2014, and a UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its alarm at the widespread violence and sexual abuse of children in India.

“It said one in three rape victims in India was a minor and half of the abusers were known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility.”

Keeping your children from predators

• Show interest in their day-to-day lives. Ask them what they did during the day and who they did it with.
• Get to know the people in your child’s life. Know who your child is spending time with, including other children and adults.
• Choose caregivers carefully.
• Talk about the media. Incidents of sexual violence are frequently covered by the news and portrayed in television shows.
• Know the warning signs. Become familiar with the warning signs of child sexual abuse, and notice any changes with your child, no matter how small.