INDIA
India Today
Posted by Ganesh Kumar Radha Udayakumar
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, March 12, 2017
The father of a minor girl who was allegedly raped and impregnated by a Catholic priest in a Kerala parish, has said he lied about raping his daughter to protect her aggressor and the Church, the Indian Express reported on Saturday.
The victim, a 17-year old student in eleventh grade, gave birth to a baby last month.
Her father said he turned in the priest, 48-year old Father Robin Vaddakumchiryil, after being taken into custody and told he would be behind bars for a long time, the Indian Express report said.
He said the priest “wanted someone to take responsibility” for the baby’s birth, the report added.
Meanwhile, the girl’s mother told the Indian Express that she and her husband remain “faithfully loyal” to the Church, and their daughter “is determined to fight back by focusing on her studies.”
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