Sri Lanka's top monk suspended over alleged child sex abuse
A senior monk in Sri Lanka has been suspended over allegations of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. Pallegama Hemarathana, aged 71, was stripped of his responsibilities as the chief custodian of a revered tree linked to the Buddha. This case has raised concerns about child abuse within the clergy in the country.
- ▪Pallegama Hemarathana was suspended by the Council of Monks of the Malwatte Chapter.
- ▪He was arrested on May 9 for allegedly abusing a girl at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple in 2022.
- ▪Hemarathana has been granted bail but is barred from traveling abroad.
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Sri Lanka's Buddhist hierarchy suspended on Saturday (May 30, 2026) a senior monk accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl, in a high-profile case that has shocked the religiously conservative nation.In a rare disciplinary move, 71-year-old Pallegama Hemarathana was stripped of his responsibilities as the chief custodian of a highly venerated ficus grown from a sapling of a tree believed to have sheltered the Buddha."The Council of Monks of the Malwatte Chapter decided today to suspend Ven.
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