Pennsylvania Sikh Priest Arrested For Sexual Assault Of Minor
NEW YORK, NY (IANS) – The 64-year-old priest of the Philadelphia Sikh Temple in Millbourne has been arrested for allegedly sexually-assaulting a girl when she was a five-year-old by “inappropriately touching” her for at least seven years, a media report said.
Balwinder Singh of Drexel Hill, Delaware County, PA, was recently charged with unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children — all felonies, Delaware-based Daily Times newspaper reported.
According to an affidavit written by Upper Darby Special Investigations Detective Kevin Knapp, the victim, now an adult, reported the alleged assaults at police headquarters on January 24 this year with an intent to “seek justice”.
In a recorded statement, she stated that the assaults began when she was a first-grader attending classes on religious hymns at the temple on Fridays.
The girl said she had spoken about the alleged assaults with a school staff member in January 2014, when she turned 12.
She had also provided a recorded statement to a detective from Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division but the probe didn’t go further as her family reached an agreement with the temple and Singh.
According to the agreement, Singh would have no further contact with the girl, and the victim’s family would not go ahead with criminal charges, according to the affidavit.
Defence Attorney Chris Boggs declined to comment, the Daily Times said.
Singh was preliminarily arraigned last week before Magisterial District Judge Andrew Goldberg, who set bail at 10 per cent of $100,000, which was posted on the same day, according to court records.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Goldberg on April 20.
pemba
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Religious priests are main culprits. Specially from South Asian communities,
April 14, 2023Most victims are from poor families, who are silenced by money power and corrupt
management of the operators.
If all religious organizers are investigated more exploitation will turn up.
One example, litigation between temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and labor exploitation for more than twenty years
of 250 members of Dalit Community, who were forced to work at $1.13 per hour, has by now swept under the carpet.
It seems where the religion is being preached/practiced there is no truth, and where there is the truth there is no of need religion,
The truth is the religion itself.
John selvalingam
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DMK?
April 17, 2023RAJENDIR K SHARMA
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Zanzibar
Majority of priests are good but few are bad. It is universal, regardless whether the visitors are so called Dalit. also known as untouchables or scheduled castes. Some Catholic priests have also been mistreating Dalit/Untouchables/Scheduled castes and others. If you are a Dalit in US, no one cares. Any priests abusing or exploiting visitors regardless of being Dalit or not, must be reported to police and to other visitors. As I am not born as a Dalit, I do not have much interest in them nor I care. I see everyone as human being.
April 14, 2023