A shocking case of prolonged sexual abuse has come to light, resulting in the arrest of pastor Vinod Joshua of Thoothukudi, who has been sexually harassing a girl since she was 14 years old and has continued his sexual abuse even after marriage. The pastor has now been arrested by the police in Madurai under the POCSO Act.
Located near Ottapidaram in the Thoothukudi district, Keezhakottai village is home to the Christian Brethren Church, a Pentecostal congregation. Serving as the pastor in this church was Vinod Joshua, originally from the Vellore district.
Since 2018, Vinod Joshua, 40, has been sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl from the same village. Furthermore, the girl is said to have been forced to have sex several times. The girl was terrified and did not tell anyone because pastor Joshua threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone outside about the harassment.
In this situation, the girl turned 18 last year and got married. Currently, the woman is 8 months pregnant. However, the unyielding priest Vinod Joshua has been sexually harassing the woman via WhatsApp on her cell phone. Unable to bear the torture further, the victim then filed a complaint with the Kadampur All Women Police Station.
Based on her complaint, the police opened an investigation and found that priest Vinod Joshua had sexually harassed her since she was 14 years old.
Pastor Vinod Joshua, however, has fled the scene after learning of the police investigation. Following this, the police were in search of the absconding priest. In this circumstance, the police detained pastor Vinod Joshua in front of the Madurai Mattuthavani bus stop. Following that, priest Vinod Joshua was apprehended and remanded in judicial custody.
(with inputs from Polimer News)
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