Britain's bishop of Liverpool denies allegations
of sexual assault
Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The bishop of Liverpool has denied a set of sexual assault allegations by two different women including a fellow church leader.
A woman previously accused Reverend Dr. John Perumbalath, the bishop of Liverpool, of groping and kissing her without consent, and another accused Perumbalath of sexual harassment going as far back as 2023.
In a statement to the BBC, Perumbalath said he has since "consistently denied" the allegations, and added that a police investigation led to no further action.
One woman alleged Perumbalath assaulted her in Essex at the diocese of Chelmsford on separate occasions from 2019 to 2023 while he was bishop of Bradwell.
"Whilst I don't believe I have done anything wrong, I have taken seriously the lessons learnt through this process addressing how my actions can be perceived by others," he wrote in the statement.
The Diocese of Liverpool announced in October 2022 that Perumbalath was to be the ninth bishop of Liverpool and was enthroned in 2023 after he arrived from the Diocese of Chelmsford.
A complaint of alleged misconduct was brought against Perumbalath, now 58, in 2023 after he officially assumed his new role, according to the Church of England. The second complaint was lodged shortly after the first.
A female bishop told Britain's Channel 4 News that she too was sexually harassed by Perumbalath.
But the Church of England said "pastoral support" was provided "throughout for the second complainant and is ongoing."
"The allegations set out in this program are in relation to encounters that took place in public settings, with other people present," the bishop of Liverpool stated.
Perumbalath was voluntarily interviewed under caution by police in March of last year. And he noted that he likewise complied with an investigation by the National Safeguarding Team.
However, an NST spokesperson confirmed insufficient evidence was available to file a complaint under the Clergy Discipline Measure.
"The information brought by the second complainant was explored and assessed not to be a safeguarding matter but a matter of alleged misconduct," the Church of England stated.
Perumbalath, from Kerala in southern India, was ordained in 1994 into the Church of North India before being moved to Britain in 2001 to take a role with the Diocese of Rochester.
It follows the recent departure of Justin Welby, 69, as archbishop of Canterbury over Welby's handling of a sexual abuse scandal.
Meanwhile, Welby's temporary replacement as the Church of England's leader, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, has faced similar calls to step-down after allegations he twice-appointed a priest at the center of a sexual abuse case.
Australian Christian sect members convicted in death of diabetic 8-year-old
Jan. 29 (UPI) -- A court in Brisbane, Australia, on Wednesday, found 14 members of a religious group guilty of the 2022 killing of an 8-year-old diabetic girl after withholding insulin from her for almost a week.
Jason Struhs and Stevens were acquitted of murder charges because the prosecution had failed to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt -- in Jason's case because he was under the "cloistering" influence of the group's beliefs.
Stevens was found not guilty for similar reasons despite the court finding he had persuaded, encouraged and supported Jason to halt Elizabeth's insulin shots.
Mother, Kerrie Struhs, 49, brother, Zachary Struhs, and the 10 others were convicted on grounds they counseled or encouraged Jason Struhs to withdraw insulin therapy.
However, Justice Burns singled out Kerrie Struhs in his written judgment saying the "complete abdication" of her legal responsibilities of care for her daughter "constituted such an egregious departure from the standard of care as to amount to a crime against the state that is deserving of punishment."
While there was no evidence of malice, with Justice Burns saying as he handed down his verdict in Queensland's Supreme Court that it was clear Elizabeth was loved by her parents and all the accused, their actions still led to her death.
"It cannot be doubted that Elizabeth was lovingly cared for in almost every way. However, due to a singular belief in the healing power of God, she was deprived of the one thing that would most definitely have kept her alive," Justice Martin said.
There is nothing wrong with believing in the healing power of God. There are millions of stories of God healing people in miraculous ways. What was wrong here is that "The Saints" believed that God would heal somebody just because they asked. They were so firm in their belief that they bet Elizabeth's life on it. God heals people when it is His will to do so, not when it is our will. The Saints must learn to discern God's will and not demand their will be done.
The testimony of dozens of witnesses called by the prosecution during the six-month non-jury trial depicted a distressing account of the suffering endured by Elizabeth in the days before her death from diabetic ketoacidosis -- a condition in which blood sugar is elevated to deadly levels.
"She was described as speaking little, needing help going to the toilet, and being incontinent," said prosecutor Caroline Marco.
She would also have suffered vomiting, extreme lethargy and loss of consciousness.
Authorities were not notified of Elizabeth's death for 36 hours as the group fully expected she would be brought back to life, in a similar way to Jesus' resurrection.e
They continued to insist she would rise up from the dead in police interviews after being arrested in January 2022.
The court heard Elizabeth was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes requiring daily insulin jabs in 2019 following an incident for which Jason Struhs and wife, Kerrie Struhs were charged after Elizabeth was rushed to the hospital in a diabetic coma weighing just 33 pounds and too weak to walk.
The accused are scheduled to be sentenced in February.
And what was the outcome of those charges in 2019? Was there never any follow-up to check on this girl? Amazing!
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