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	Visiting Priest on Rape Charge By Santham Pillay Times Live May 7, 2011 http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article1054869.ece/Visiting-priest-on-rape-charge A Tongaat family has been left shattered after their 12-year-old child was allegedly raped by an Indian priest they invited to South Africa. The 56-year-old man was arrested and charged with the rape of the girl three weeks ago. This week, he was denied bail in the Verulam Magistrate's Court and his case was remanded until May 16 for a formal bail hearing. A police source said the investigation was taking its toll on the family. "The child is really traumatised. The family don't want to talk to anyone. It is causing them a lot of pain." The Phoenix Child Protection Unit is handling the case . Police spokesman in the area, Captain Mulamuli Nzimande said the alleged rape took place on April 18 at the girl's home. He said the priest had been living with the family during his one-month stay in South Africa. "He was arrested (on April 19) and has been in custody since then at Westville Prison." The man allegedly lured the girl into his room - the family's prayer room - on the pretext of praying for her. A Tongaat community member, who asked not to be named, said the priest had been hosted in Durban on a previous occasion and had been invited to South Africa at the expense of two families, including the Tongaat family, to give lectures on Hindu scriptures. "There was no organisation that brought him here. He is a guru in terms of his knowledge of the scriptures." In another case involving a religious leader, Imam Sheik Ebrahim Essop was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court last Friday. The 58-year-old Essop was convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl five years ago during a study class.
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