Buddhist Priest Arrested on Sex Assault Charge

WLS
May 15, 2012

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8662604

Camnong Bual Ubol

May 15, 2012 (STICKNEY, Ill.) (WLS) -- A Buddhist priest accused of fathering a child with a teenage girl while he lived and worked at a temple in suburban Stickney has been arrested in Alaska.

Camnong Bual Ubol was wanted for aggravated criminal sexual assault until his arrest on Friday. He was born in Thailand, but he is a U.S. citizen and had been a Buddhist priest in the United States since 1995, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the Cook County Sheriff's office.

In October 2011, Barbara Blaine from SNAP (Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests) contacted police to investigate allegations that Ubol, 61, was responsible for fathering a child with a then 15-year-old during the time he worked at the Wat Dhammaram Temple in Stickney. The release states a 2010 paternity test shows Ubol fathered a child with the alleged victim.

Ubol's last known address was the Wat Buddhavipassana Temple in Long Beach, California. But police say he had since been removed from the temple and it was determined he was residing in Anchorage, Alaska.

Last week, police obtained a warrant for the arrest of Ubol and he was taken into custody by the FBI without incident Friday evening in Anchorage, Alaska, where he worked as a dishwasher.