India gives priest 40-year sentence for child rape

AFP, NEW DELHI: An Indian court has sentenced a Christian priest to 40 years in prison for repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl at the church where he worked, the prosecutor said Wednesday.
Sanil K. James was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting the girl at a Salvation Army church in the southern state of Kerala in 2014.
The 37-year-old is also being investigated for the alleged rape of another girl during the same period.
“The court said the priest deserved the maximum punishment for this cruel act,” special prosecutor Pious Mathew told AFP.
Prosecutors told the court James had raped the girl, now aged 13, several times inside the church complex over a period of two months.
The judge ordered that he should not get remission and also imposed a 20,000 rupee ($295) fine.
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 gives priest 40-year sentence for child rape

AFP, NEW DELHI: An Indian court has sentenced a Christian priest to 40 years in prison for repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl at the church where he worked, the prosecutor said Wednesday. Sanil K. James was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting the girl at a Salvation Army church in the southern state of Kerala in 2014. The 37-year-old is also being investigated for the alleged rape of another girl during the same period. The court said the priest deserved the maximum punishment for this cruel act, special prosecutor Pious Mathew told AFP. Prosecutors told the court James had raped the girl, now aged 13, several times inside the church complex over a period of two months. The judge ordered that he should not get remission and also imposed a 20,000 rupee ($295) fine. He was given two 20-year sentences, one under Indias stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences act and one under a separate section of the criminal law covering the rape of children.