CALGARY; Religious leaders who rape child followers are more culpable than parents who molest their kids, Alberta’s top court said recently.
The Alberta Court of Appeal made the comment in increasing the jail term of the Canadian high priest to a Sikh religious sect who raped two followers.
The court in a written decision upped the sentence handed Balraj Singh Sidhu to eight years. Sidhu originally had been handed a4 1/2 year term after being convicted of sexually assaulting two teenage members of his Calgary congregation,
The appeal court agreed with Crown prosecutor Peter Martin that the sentence was too low considering Sidhus position of trust over the girls.
The accused was the religious leader of a devout group of good citizens,” Justice Mel Shannon wrote in the unanimous decision.
“His people accepted the accused as almost a deity.
He put that trust to work to force two daughters of members of his following to submit to major sexual assaults.
A religious leader who abuses trust is more blame-worthy than a parent.
The accused claimed to be wiser and more worthy than a parent.”
The judges also noted Sidhu regularly took advantage of his position to satisfy his sexual urges. Shannon said 15 sexual assaults occurred against the two victims who were unable to stop him. “They were powerless to resist him because they would not be believed, even by their parents.”
Article extracted from this publication >> October 23, 1992
