Father Robin Vadakkumchery, Pastor of the Mananthavady diocese was convicted by the Thalassery POCSO Court and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in rape and abuse cases, each under 3 different sections,which will run concurrently (60 years) . He was accused of raping and impregnating a minor girl in 2016. He was tried under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The girl gave birth to a child February 2017. The case had come to light, two years after the heinous rape case occurred.
Due to lack of any substantial evidence the POCSO court has acquitted 5 nuns from the Christu Raj convent and 1 administrator who were accused of covering up the incident. The victim’s live birth certificate that showed that she was a minor in 2016 when the rape happened became the basis of the court verdict against Father Robin. It was further corroborated as the DNA report of the child born in 2017 matched with Robin’s, proving that he was the one who was responsible for the rape of the girl studying in the church run institution. Though, the rape occurred in May, 2016 and the minor girl delivered the baby in February, 2017, the same came to light, when the Kannur child helpline got a tip off which led to the Inquiry.
Though the witnesses turned hostile, the prosecution could prove the crime through the live birth certificate of the minor child who was the rape victim and the DNA Report.
The Case History:
The survivor was a student at the school attached to the church where Fr Robin was teaching and had allegedly been raped by him several times in 2016. This abuse led to her giving birth at the Christu Raj Hospital, a church run institution in Kannur, on February 7, 2017.
According to the Police report, the 16-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital, after she complained of stomach ache.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had been protected by a network of Christian institutions who helped cover up the crime to save their own face. Police suspected this after facing ‘practical difficulties’ in arresting all the accused in the case.
The four of the nuns who were accused of helping to cover up the incident were absconding before surrendering to the police.
The church had maintained silence and refused to accept that the crime had occurred and supported the accused Pastor. The Kerala government sacked Fr John Therakom who was the Chairman of Child Welfare Committee who allegedly covered up the incident and the Archdiocese followed suit.
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