A Christian priest has been caught sexually abusing young women attending his church in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu. Scandalous videos of him kissing and exposing himself to young women have gone viral on social media. He is said to have trapped minor girls and married women into submitting to his demands. He reportedly filed a false case on a youngster questioning his immoral behaviour. 

Intimate pictures and videos of a Syro-Malankara Catholic priest have recently gone viral on social media. There was an incident a few days ago in which Benedict Anto, the Catholic priest, was attacked by a group of men at his church in Kanyakumari and his laptop was taken away. Reports say no action was taken against the assaulters as the priest filed no complaint. Later obscene videos and pictures of the priest in intimate positions with young women flooded social media.

As per a Tamil Samayam report, a woman has filed a complaint with the Kanyakumari women police against the priest. She has accused the priest of sexually exploiting women who attend his congregation and threatening them with videos of their intimate moments. Complainant Mini Ajitha said in her complaint that Anto filed a fake case against her son Austin Gino.

The priest had reportedly misbehaved with a girl and Austin questioned it. He claimed that Austin assaulted him, and sent him to jail by filing a fake case against him. Austin’s mother has submitted evidence about the priest’s illicit affairs with women and sought the police commissioner to take action against him. Following this, videos and photos leaked from the priest’s laptop have gone viral on social media.

A News Tamil report says that the priest trapped females of all ages, including minor girls. A medical student, reportedly the daughter of an influential person in the church, was also trapped by the priest. He threatened his victims using pictures taken with them and WhatsApp chats saying that he would reveal their secrets to exploit them sexually. He trapped even married women in this method.

The affected medical student didn’t relent to his threats and pleaded with him to delete her pictures and chats. When he refused to do so and even issued death threats she informed her friend Austin Gino. As the priest filed a case against Austin for questioning him, claiming that he demanded money.

A young girl who barely escaped from the Catholic priest’s trap has also come forward to file a complaint following Austin’s complaint. She told the media that the priest made her acquaintance when he was working at another nearby church that she frequented. He got her number and started chatting. Later he sent lewd messages and porn and made video calls at ungodly hours, harassing her to pick up and talk. In the photos doing rounds on social media, a woman can be seen posing as a bride in one picture and being kissed by the priest in another.

Despite having more than enough evidence on how the priest trapped many women to satiate his sexual depravity, Austin’s mother who filed the complaint, has sight relief for her son as the main thing instead of exposing the priest. Anto has been suspended by the church and police have not taken any action on him till now. Media reports say he plans to escape being tried by resigning his position as the parish priest. Church tactics in shaming victims and burying such horrendous exploitation through settlements is well-known.

After all, a Catholic priest Robin Vadakkumcherry convinced the father of the minor girl he raped and fathered a child to give a fake confession in order to escape punishment. Many girls were believed to have fallen victim to the sexual predator but were silenced by the church through monetary compensation. Considering the church’s history, Benedict Anto’s case might not be much different. It is the Christian community that has to prioritise the lives of their children over the reputation of the church.