Delhi court sentences priest to life imprisonment for raping minors in temple precincts, quotes American poet Maya Angelou

A 76-year-old convict has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping two minors in the national capital after the court held that the convict was a priest by profession and committed offences upon children within the sacred precincts of a temple. [State Vs. Vishva Bandhu].Additional Sessions Judge Vijeta Singh Rawat even quoted late American poet and activist Maya Angelou from her autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing” as saying: “Then there was the pain. A breaking and entering when even the senses are torn apart. The act of rape on an eight-year-old body is a matter of the needle giving because the camel can’t. The child gives, because the body can, and the mind of the violator cannot.”The judge noted that the quote had succinctly captured the pathos, when the dignity of a defenceless child victim was violated by an adult through his violent act of contempt..The court in the sentencing order also noted that the man had betrayed the trust and respect the victims and the public had upon him. “No remorse was expressed at any stage of the trial. In the facts and circumstances of this case, if leniency is shown, this Court would be letting down the children who have fought all odds to pursue the matter. These victims have been scarred for future,” it stated.The court opined that it would be failing in its duty if such “predators” were set free and “allowed to circulate, endangering other children”..Court would be failing in its duty if such “predators” were set free and “allowed to circulate, endangering other children”.Delhi Court.For its decision on the life term imprisonment for the convict, the court highlighted that he had committed the crime repeatedly on both survivors. “This only shows the rapacious and habitual conduct on the part of the convict. As already opined above, such habitual sexual predator cannot be trusted with. He has even not cared for the respect and faith attached to his office as a priest and has also desecrated the temple where the children should have had a carefree and safe time,” the court said.Record showed that the convict had been held guilty under Sections 376(2) (rape) and 506 (II) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 read with section 5(l) dealing with aggravated penetrative sexual assault of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act on February 26, 2021.The State through a Special Public Prosecutor sought the maximum punishment for the convict stating he was a priest, who had shown depravity by committing the sexual assault within the precincts of the temple.The defence counsel, on the other hand, sought leniency saying the convict was 76-years old and without a criminal record.“Rather, considering that minor children had been repeatedly raped by the convict, who was then aged about 69-70 years, irrefragably speaks volumes about the depravity and proclivity in the mindset of the convict which is an aggravating circumstance,” the court held.The convict was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and slapped with a ₹60,000 fine by an order on July 16, 2021.