Priest accused of sexual abuse to face probe in US

As the Diocese of Udhagamandalam, the home Diocese of Jeyapaul which oversees the priest of Indian origin, said it is probing the matter in detail, the Archbishop of Madras M Chinnappa said he has spoken to the Bishop of Ootacamund on Tuesday to take action against the priest. Jeyapaul is currently staying in the hill town in Tamil Nadu.

“I have asked the Bishop of Ooty to comply with the demands of the case. Jeyapaul must return to the US if necessary for further investigations. He has to oblige. There is no way out,” Chinnappa said in Chennai.

Prosecutors in Minnesota on Monday said they were trying to extradite 55-year-old Jeyapaul. Jeyapaul has denied the sexual abuse allegations and reported to have said he has no plans to return to the US to face the courts there.

In a statement handed over to reporters, who had gone to meet Jeyapaul in Udhagamandalam, Bishop Amalraj said the matter has already been referred to the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the highest Catholic Organistaion in India, for necessary direction.

Amalraj earlier said Jeyapaul had gone to meet his advocate in Chennai regarding the cases, which came to light through the press. In the statement, Amalraj stated that it was true that the said priest was working in the Diocese of Crookstone in the State of Minnesota in the US from September 2004 to August 2005. “Suddenly he had to rush back to India to see his ailing mother and he never returned to US since then,” Amalraj said.