Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Other or denomination not established Vadakkankulam, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India · 2026

India: Tamil Nadu church priest sentenced under POCSO for assaulting a seven-year-old visitor

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

priest of a church at Vadakkankulam

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

A small child at her family's church, within reach of its priest because that is what the visit was for.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2026-06-11 · conviction and sentence

    District POCSO special court, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India. Selvaraj, 59, priest of a church at Vadakkankulam, sexually harassed a seven-year-old girl who visited the church with her parents for prayers in February 2020. On 11 June 2026 the Tirunelveli district POCSO special court (Judge Suresh Kumar) sentenced him to seven years plus a fine and ₹1 lakh victim compensation, on a case registered by the Valliyoor All-Women Police under POCSO.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • priest's standing over a child brought to the church by her parents for prayers

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'Court Sends Church Priest To Seven Years In Jail', ETV Bharat, 12 Jun. 2026 (credited repost).

Court report of the conviction and sentence.

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