Catholic priest accused of raping teenage girl surrenders in Kerala

Kochi: A Catholic priest, wanted for allegedly raping a teenage girl in 2015, surrendered to the police at Aluva near Kochi on Tuesday. Police said Edwin Figarez, a priest attached to the Lourdes Matha Church, Puthenvelikkara in Ernakulam district, surrendered before Aluva Deputy Superintendent of Police PP Shams. [caption id=“attachment_1843123” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Figarez had been missing ever since the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea on 5 May. A lookout notice was issued against him after that. Police said the probe team has taken him into custody. The priest will be produced before the court on Wednesday, they said. A spokesperson for Kottappuram Diocese had earlier said Figarez had been “suspended for the time being” from parish services after a pastoral commission appointed by the Bishop prepared a “preliminary report” about the alleged incident of sexual assault of the 14-year-old in a church complex between January and March 2015, mostly when she came for confession. In her complaint, the girl’s mother had alleged that the priest abused her daughter many times when she sought his services for confession. PTI