Child rape and sex abuse surface in US Buddhist temples

Sexual abuse of children… it’s not just for Catholic priests any more. And, as it turns out, enabling and cover-ups are not a Catholic monopoly either. According to a July 24 article in the Chicago Tribune, Theravada Buddhist monks are walking away from sex abuse accusations and temple superiors are frustrating law enforcement by insisting they have no control over monks’ actions or whereabouts.

Take the case of Camnong Boa-Ubol, for instance. According to a lawsuit filed against the Wat Dhammaram Theravada Temple in Chicago, a 12-year old girl told his superiors that the “monk had turned off the lights during a tutoring session, lifted her shirt and kissed and fondled her breasts while pressing against her…”
“We have done our best to restore the order,” the letter said.

But 11 years later, the monk, Camnong Boa-Ubol, serves at a temple in California, where he says he interacts with children even as he faces a second claim, supported by DNA, that he impregnated a girl in the Chicago area.

I’ve never heard it called that before!