By Megan Twohey and Becky Schlikerman
Chicago Tribune
August 21, 2011
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-protesters-rally-against-monk-accused-of-assault-20110821,0,5242040.story
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| Danielle DuBois (left) and Tiffany Reeves of Chicago protest with other members of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests outside the Theravada Buddhist Temple of Wat Dhammaram Sunday. |
Tucked away on a quiet street on the Southwest Side, Wat Dhammaram temple is usually serene, a place where Buddhists go to meditate.
But on Sunday, that tranquillity at the Theravada Buddhist temple was shattered when protesters descended on the temple in response to a Tribune report that a former monk at the temple has been accused of sexually attacking two girls, allegedly impregnating one of them, but still serves as a monk in a Long Beach, Calif., temple.
Protesters with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, handed out fliers and held signs with a warning for temple members and neighbors in the tight-knit community: "Children molested at this temple."
"We hope this temple will make the protection of children their priority, not the protection of grown men who are supposed spiritual leaders who violate their trust and rape teenage girls," said Barbara Blaine, president of SNAP. "…We want any other victims to know as painful as it is, it is safe to come forward. They no longer need to be kept in secrecy and shame."
SNAP's allegations stem from a lawsuit accusing Camnong Boa-Ubol of sexually attacking two girls including a 12-year-old, whose family immediately reported the alleged abuse to monks at Wat Dhammaram in 2000.
Though the family was told the monk would return to Thailand, he now serves at Wat Buddhavipassana in Long Beach, Calif., where he confirmed that he continues to interact with children.
A smaller group rallied outside of the Wat Dhammaram temple in Long Beach, Calif., a few hours later.
In a similarly quiet neighborhood, SNAP volunteers passed out leaflets congregants visiting the temple and shared published reports about Boa-Ubol's alleged attacks.
"We want families to know about a potentially dangerous predator who is assigned here at this temple," said Esther Miller, 52. "We've had a couple of parents march right in there with our fliers."
P. Boonshoo Sriburin, the head monk of Wat Buddhavipassana, has said that under the structure of Theravada Buddhist temples in the U.S, Boa-Ubol was free to continue practicing. He also said he chose not to inform the California temple.
"We have no authority to do anything …He has his own choice to live anywhere," Sriburin told the Tribune.
But allegations of sexual abuse by Boa-Ubol became public last year, when a separate woman from the Chicago area filed a lawsuit against Boa-Ubol, Sriburin and Wat Dhammaram, alleging negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and gender violence.
The woman alleges Boa-Ubol began sexually assaulting her in Wat Dhammaram when she was 14 and continued to do so for nearly a year until she became pregnant.
Monks at the temple and their lawyer declined to comment Sunday. But when a Tribune reporter asked Boa-Ubol about the allegation of sexual abuse in 2000, Boa-Ubol said he had "contact with her by accident."
He denied having sex with the other woman.
Neighbors of the temple said they didn't know about the controversy brewing at the temple, but the protest drew them out to find out more.
"Secrecy has allowed this to fester way too long and … from now on, we're saying 'No more!' " Blaine said.
Contact: bschlikerman@tribune.com
Contact: mtwohey@tribune.com
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