Indian priest accused of sex abuse in US

An Indian priest is in the soup for allegedly abusing a teenage girl at a Catholic Church in Minnesota, USA.

A 20-year-old American woman from the Diocese of Crookston sued Rev. Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul - her parish priest five years ago - for sexually abusing her in the Blessed Sacrament Church, Greenbush.

According to the court filing, the alleged abuse occurred in 2004 when Jeyapaul served as the parish priest in the Crookston diocese that was apparently facing a dearth of native pastors.

David Baumgartner, vicar-general of the diocese, confirmed that the allegations against the priest were 'real'. It is also claimed that Jeyapaul fled the US in 2005 after requesting senior clergymen permission to aid a dying relative.

The victim identified as 'Jane Doe' in the lawsuit, says she grew up in a devout Roman Catholic family and suffered "severe emotional distress, loss of self-esteem, humiliation, and psychological trauma" after the abuse. She also added that she would continue to incur expenses for counseling and medical treatment.

Jeff Anderson, the lawyer who filed the suit in Roseau County Court, says the priest hailing from southern India "repeatedly abused her in the confessional, in his office and in other parts of the church."

He also expressed concern that the accused priest must be working in a diocese in India and might also be "still abusing young girls." A copy of the complaint has been sent to Jeyapaul.

Crookston diocese has three Indians of 32 priests serving 68 parishes.

According to the 2006 study "International Priests in America," one in six priests (total about 5,500) serving in American parishes are foreign-born. Each year the country welcomes at least 400 international priests.