Sri Lankan Buddhist monk arrested over alleged sex abuse of 11-year-old girl

Pallegama Hemarathana, 71, is the most senior monk in the country to be accused of such a crime. The child’s mother has also been arrested

Sri Lankan authorities arrested a senior Buddhist monk on Saturday for the alleged sexual abuse of an underage girl, police said, marking the highest-profile case involving clergy in the country.

Pallegama Hemarathana, 71, was arrested at a private hospital in the capital Colombo where he had sought treatment over the weekend amid an investigation into the alleged abuse of the 11-year-old girl in 2022.

The crime is alleged to have taken place at a highly venerated temple in Anuradhapura, around 200km (125 miles) north of Colombo, where Hemarathana is the chief priest.

“We will be guided by the magistrate on further action,” a police statement said on Saturday.

The monk will soon be presented before a judge.

Authorities added that the victim’s mother has also been arrested for aiding and abetting the monk.

The development comes a day after a local court in Anuradhapura imposed a foreign travel ban on the monk.