Mother seeks justice after 9 year old daughter alleges sexual abuse by abbot
Family bypasses slow legal channels for support from non-profit organisation
A Thai mother is seeking justice for her nine year old daughter, accusing an abbot in the central province of Pathum Thani of sexually abusing the girl in a temple bathroom.
The 39 year old mother, May, reported the alleged sexual abuse via the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women‘s hotline number 1134 on July 1. May revealed in the call that her nine year old daughter was sexually assaulted by an abbot in the temple bathroom and was forced to keep the assault secret.
The foundation subsequently urged May to provide further details of the case to its founder, Pavena Hongsakul, today, July 15.
The girl’s mother explained that the incident took place on June 24 when the girl was waiting for her younger brother, who was playing football at a field near the temple. It was raining, so the boy stopped playing and waited for the rain to cease before returning home.
The temple abbot then approached the siblings and asked them to buy him oral rehydration salts. Afterwards, he gave each child 20 baht and asked them to help him clean the bathroom.
The siblings cleaned separate bathrooms. The abbot entered the room where the girl was cleaning and touched her genitals, causing her to go into shock. Fortunately, her brother arrived, leading the abbot to cease his actions.
May said her daughter had a bad dream that night and visibly displayed shock, but she did not reveal the incident to anyone.
The girl refused to go to school the following day, June 25, claiming she was unwell. The girl eventually disclosed the sexual abuse to her grandmother that day, leading the family to file a complaint against the abbot at Khukhan Police Station.
Police officers summoned the accused abbot for questioning, but he remains at liberty. The girl continued to refuse to go to school, fearing meeting the suspect. The mother wanted the legal process against the monk to be expedited, so she reached out to the foundation.
Pavena agreed with the mother that the abbot must be ordered to leave his monkhood immediately. She promised to coordinate with the relevant department to ensure the monk is punished as soon as possible.
As of now, the accused abbot has not given any account or clarification regarding the matter to any news outlets.
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