Chennai, September 16: A Chennai-based pastor who was running an orphanage was arrested by the police for impregnating a teenaged girl. The pastor, Charles (58) had raped the minor girl who was admitted to his orphanage.

The girl delivered the baby in 2021. Charles kept her in the care of a woman at Rajamangalam and told the girl that he would return soon and take her back to the orphanage. The girl waited for the pastor for a year and then filed a police complaint. Tamil Nadu: Absconding Pastor Held a Year Later After He Impregnated Minor Girl in Chengalpet.

The Greater Chennai Police were on the search for the pastor for over a year and he was arrested on Thursday night when he reached the city. He was charged under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and also for cheating. The pastor was produced before the judicial magistrate on Friday and was put under judicial custody.

A senior officer with the Greater Chennai Police told IANS that the police are investigating whether the pastor had sexually exploited other girls in the orphanage too. Police are also probing the bank details of the pastor and the orphanage to ascertain whether he was receiving funds illegally and if the funds are being used for purposes other than running the orphanage.

Sources told IANS that there are 16 minor girls in the orphanage. Tamil Nadu Social Justice Department has also ordered a probe into the functioning of the orphanage and whether funds are being misused.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2022 05:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).