Child Abuse Claims Made Against Nearly 300 Sri Lankan Buddhist Monks in Last Three Years
The revelation that a large number of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka are accused of abusing children was made in response to a freedom of information request by OCCRP. It comes as the country grapples with child sex allegations against one of its most senior Buddhist clergymen.
Nearly 300 Sri Lankan monks have been accused of abusing children in the last three years, leading to charges against nearly 30 of them, the country’s child protection agency has disclosed.
The revelation by Sri Lanka’s National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), which was made in response to a freedom of information request by OCCRP, comes as the Buddhist-majority country grapples with the recent arrest of one of its most senior clergymen for alleged child sex offences.
Venerable Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, 71, who oversees eight of the country’s most sacred Buddhist sites, was arrested on May 9 for the alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl over a number of years.
When the top leaders of any organisation misbehave, their morals, or lack thereof, tend to spread to the lower ranks, even in religious institutions.
The cleric has not been charged and was released on bail last week. One of his defense lawyers, Mahesh Kotuwella, said that Hemarathana is currently under investigation for statutory rape.
“My client firmly denies all allegations made against him,” Hemarathana’s lawyer told OCCRP.
Hemarathana’s arrest has led to controversy in Sri Lanka, where monks are deeply admired and respected, and criticism of clergy is often viewed as an attack on the identity of the country’s dominant Sinhalese Buddhist majority.
Sensitivities are so strong that many Sri Lankan media outlets have not reported on Hemarathana’s arrest, despite his case attracting international coverage.
The NCPA told OCCRP that members of the public and clergy had made complaints against 285 different Buddhist monks between May 1, 2023 and May 1, 2026. NCPA referrals led to charges against 27 of the accused monks, the agency said, but added it did not have data on how many were convicted.
The NCPA’s chairperson, retired justice Preethi Inoka Ranasinghe, told OCCRP that over 70 percent of the complaints were for sexual offences. She added that cases are rising in the country, and that much abuse, including by religious figures, continues to go unreported.
The NCPA has also criticized the response of authorities to allegations of sexual abuse by the senior monk, Hemarathana. The agency’s legal officer, Sajeewani Abeykoon, recently told a court that the authority “had to take a stick and chase the police” to get him arrested.
Professor Harendra de Silva, the founding chairperson of the NCPA, told OCCRP that the elevated status of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka’s conservative society makes it difficult to arrest those accused of offences against children.
“You need to remember that a clergy, especially a leading figure, means a powerful person with a lot of money,” he said.
As the investigation in Hemarathana’s case proceeds, his lawyer Kotuwella told OCCRP that the Attorney General of Sri Lanka will determine “whether indictments will be filed before the High Court in relation to the allegation of statutory rape.”
More on Hemarathana
Monk suspended over child sex abuse claims
The nation’s Buddhist hierarchy suspended 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 on Saturday 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 Hemarathana until the conclusion of the legal proceedings against him,” a statement issued by the chief priests said.
Police arrested Hemarathana on May 9 over allegations that he had sexually abused an 11-year-old girl in 2022 at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi temple in the city of Anuradhapura.
The monk has since been granted bail while a court has barred him from travelling abroad.
The temple draws thousands of people daily who pay homage at the tree Buddhists believe is closely connected to the same ficus that sheltered the Buddha when he attained enlightenment.
Obviously, it didn't have the same effect on Hemarathana.
There have been several cases of clergy abusing children in Sri Lanka, but Hemarathana is the most senior monk to be accused of such a crime. — AFP
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