Mangaluru, Oct 18 A priest attached to a church here has been arrested by city police on charges of sexually abusing minor boys, following the intervention of a Mysuru-based non-governmental organisation.
The accused, identified as Father Cyprian Pinto, has been in service since 1988 and was associated with the St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, Mangaluru. Police said he was apprehended on Sunday from a relative’s residence.
According to investigators, he was arrested after the NGO Odanadi took the matter directly to the attention of the Mangaluru Police Commissioner. Following the intervention, police officers met the aggrieved boys and facilitated the registration of a formal complaint.
Preliminary police inquiries indicate that at least five children were allegedly subjected to sexual assault.
The complaint details specific incidents, including an instance where the priest allegedly lured a minor boy with chocolates and made inappropriate remarks before taking him into a room near the church sacristy. Another incident on August 14 involved a minor who had visited the church for a prayer-related discussion and was allegedly taken to the receptionist’s room, where he was inappropriately touched.
K V Stanley, co-founder of Odanadi, alleged that the matter had initially been brought to the notice of the Mangaluru diocese in August. Instead of reporting the allegations to competent authorities, an internal inquiry committee was formed, and the priest was sent on administrative leave.
After letters sent by parents to child protection authorities reportedly failed to yield immediate action, the family approached the NGO, leading to the intervention of Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy and the subsequent filing of an FIR.
(PTI News)
