Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

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Anagarika
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Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Anagarika »

Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault
September 30, 2013|Chicago Tribune Staff report

A Buddhist monk has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting and impregnating a teenage girl at a west suburban Buddhist temple, officials said.

Camnong Boa-Ubol, 62, pled guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault for assaulting the girl several times at Wat Dhammaram temple in unincorporated Stickney Township near Bridgeview, starting in 1998 when she was 14 years old and lasting for about two years, according to a release from the Cook County state's attorney's office and news reports from the time of Boa-Ubol's arrest.

The teen, who gave birth to the child in early 2000, did not initially report the assaults because she was afraid of Boa-Ubol, who had threatened to harm her and her family, the release said. She filed a lawsuit against Boa-Ubol in 2010 but to maintain her child's privacy, did not want to pursue criminal charges.

A 2010 DNA test, conducted after her lawsuit was filed, had determined the probability that Boa-Ubol fathered the child was 99.9999997 percent, records show.

After the Chicago Tribune wrote of the woman's lawsuit in a 2011 story about abuse allegations against several monks, a victims rights group persuaded her to seek criminal action against Boa-Ubol. Last July, Boa-Ubol, who had left the Chicago area several years ago, was returned here and charged, officials said.

Boa-Ubol had been arrested on a Cook County warrant in May 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska, where he worked as a restaurant dishwasher, and had fought efforts to return him to the Chicago area. A governor's warrant eventually was issued by the office of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, and Alaska officials approved his return in July 2012, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland impose the sentence Friday at the Bridgeview Branch Courthouse.

___________________________________

Two of the main Chicago area Wats have had significant problems in recent years. The story above was significant as the Wat sent the offender back to Thailand and then seemingly conspired to allow him to migrate back to California, where he could reoffend. One of the other major Wats here was embroiled in litigation over allegations of sexual abuse of a disabled visitor to the Wat, as well as a lawsuit over financial improprieties.

My main point in this is that Theravada must have a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse and any other violations of Vinaya related to sexual and financial crimes. These Thai Wats conspired to conceal these crimes. and I am frankly glad that they finally caught Boa-Ubol and jailed him. In my view, Boa-Ubol was never a Bhikkhu. but a predator in robes. Theravada needs none of this kind of behavior, and should never tolerate it.
Matteo1972
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Matteo1972 »

I do not know if my point is relevant or not.
Unfortunately, I have heard that there are many of such stories within the Catholic Church.
And many Cardinals and Bishops have been accused to conceal the wrongdoings.
This is really unfortunate
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Anagarika
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Anagarika »

The point may be, Matteo, that Theravada is not immune from the crimes that have afflicted the Catholic church, and other churches. Corrupt men will act in corrupt ways, and there will always be men who ordain defectively because they want to escape their families, or their families give them up due to poverty, or because they think they want a life without the responsibility of work. In some areas, there's not a lot of screening that takes place before ordination. A small percentage of ordained men in any tradition will have pathology, and commit criminal offenses. The question is always, to my mind, what is the response of the hierarchy when these offenses occur? In the case of the Chicago Wat, the response was very much like your example, where the abbot allegedly participated in a conspiracy to hide this criminal in Thailand and then allow him to migrate back out of Thailand into another Wat in the US, where he could reoffend.
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Ben »

BuddhaSoup wrote:My main point in this is that Theravada must have a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse and any other violations of Vinaya related to sexual and financial crimes. These Thai Wats conspired to conceal these crimes. and I am frankly glad that they finally caught Boa-Ubol and jailed him. In my view, Boa-Ubol was never a Bhikkhu. but a predator in robes. Theravada needs none of this kind of behavior, and should never tolerate it.
I agree.
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Kusala
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

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BuddhaSoup wrote:Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault
September 30, 2013|Chicago Tribune Staff report

A Buddhist monk has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting and impregnating a teenage girl at a west suburban Buddhist temple, officials said.

Camnong Boa-Ubol, 62, pled guilty to one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault for assaulting the girl several times at Wat Dhammaram temple in unincorporated Stickney Township near Bridgeview, starting in 1998 when she was 14 years old and lasting for about two years, according to a release from the Cook County state's attorney's office and news reports from the time of Boa-Ubol's arrest.

The teen, who gave birth to the child in early 2000, did not initially report the assaults because she was afraid of Boa-Ubol, who had threatened to harm her and her family, the release said. She filed a lawsuit against Boa-Ubol in 2010 but to maintain her child's privacy, did not want to pursue criminal charges.

A 2010 DNA test, conducted after her lawsuit was filed, had determined the probability that Boa-Ubol fathered the child was 99.9999997 percent, records show.

After the Chicago Tribune wrote of the woman's lawsuit in a 2011 story about abuse allegations against several monks, a victims rights group persuaded her to seek criminal action against Boa-Ubol. Last July, Boa-Ubol, who had left the Chicago area several years ago, was returned here and charged, officials said.

Boa-Ubol had been arrested on a Cook County warrant in May 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska, where he worked as a restaurant dishwasher, and had fought efforts to return him to the Chicago area. A governor's warrant eventually was issued by the office of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, and Alaska officials approved his return in July 2012, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland impose the sentence Friday at the Bridgeview Branch Courthouse.

___________________________________

Two of the main Chicago area Wats have had significant problems in recent years. The story above was significant as the Wat sent the offender back to Thailand and then seemingly conspired to allow him to migrate back to California, where he could reoffend. One of the other major Wats here was embroiled in litigation over allegations of sexual abuse of a disabled visitor to the Wat, as well as a lawsuit over financial improprieties.

My main point in this is that Theravada must have a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse and any other violations of Vinaya related to sexual and financial crimes. These Thai Wats conspired to conceal these crimes. and I am frankly glad that they finally caught Boa-Ubol and jailed him. In my view, Boa-Ubol was never a Bhikkhu. but a predator in robes. Theravada needs none of this kind of behavior, and should never tolerate it.
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Covering up such abuse is the main reason why it continues.
BBC News - Sri Lanka's hidden scourge of religious child abuse

That case was covered up by the parents of the girl who only came forward to report it after her father's death.

Wat Dhammarama in Chicago has some odd traditions. Is it common to hold beauty pageants in Buddhist temples?
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by appicchato »

Is it common to hold beauty pageants in Buddhist temples?
Semantics aside, in Thailand it is not uncommon... :popcorn:
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Mr Man
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Mr Man »

appicchato wrote:
Is it common to hold beauty pageants in Buddhist temples?
Semantics aside, in Thailand it is not uncommon... :popcorn:
They hold a "Miss Songkran" at Wat Buddhapadipa in London.
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Still Searching
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Still Searching »

Many religious people perform such cruel acts, it can be anyone, a rabbi, nun, priest, monk, anybody. It's all about self-control.

They might be mentally unwell or angry or just is greedy and can't control his libido.

I am not ready for a monastery life but I'm training, I have managed to ignore all cravings for lust. It wasn't easy though.

Being in a sex-restricted area can make someone mentally unwell and they end up performing the act.

It's mainly self-control. What he did was terrible and I sympathize with the girl, if anyone wants to curse - I'll understand, I just think that some religious people in places like temples with low self-control can go crazy. Most men (not all) get easily aroused because they're suppose to mate at some stage. Refusing or passing off sex can be difficult.

It's shocking hearing this, it's rare hearing that a monk did this. Probably meditation helps monks control their awkward sensations.

It could be possible that he was abused too and became mentally unwell and react the memories. It's happened before.

Anyway, metta to the girl and her family.
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by tiltbillings »

  • ex-Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Feathers »

I'd like to comment on the reactions here: THANK YOU! Thanks for recognising that not all monks, nuns and lay Buddhists are perfect. And thanks for taking the stance that this was wrong, that the guy should be kicked out, that the Wat involved needs to take a look at itself.

One of the things that pretty much permanently put me off visiting a certain Zen forum was their response to revelations of long running abuse by a zen monk - defensiveness, and attempts to use Buddhism and Buddhist principles in a way that sounded a lot like saying the victims should never have spoken out.
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by chownah »

tiltbillings wrote:
  • ex-Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault
Ex-Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault committed while still a monk and convicted after he was disrobed by Buddhist authorities?
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Hickersonia »

Mr Man wrote:
appicchato wrote:
Is it common to hold beauty pageants in Buddhist temples?
Semantics aside, in Thailand it is not uncommon... :popcorn:
They hold a "Miss Songkran" at Wat Buddhapadipa in London.
This is just silly... parade a bunch of young women wearing flashy dresses around in a place where practitioners of strict celibacy are dwelling...
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by Still Searching »

Hickersonia wrote:This is just silly... parade a bunch of young women wearing flashy dresses around in a place where practitioners of strict celibacy are dwelling...

That's why I said being in sex-restricted area can cause this problem. Again, it's about self-control. Before I was part of DW and took interest in Buddhism, I had a very high drive (sounds grose to say, I know! I'm just using an example). After studying and training, I lost interest in any sexual activity.

The monastery should of checked his health records. He could've suffered mental health issues or he may had been abused himself and reinacting the memories. I'm not taking his side, I just think that there could be a lot reasons why he done what he did. Illnesses such as schizophrenia or bi-polar can make people do things that are very cruel and show no remorse.

I have a friend who's schizophrenic, who can be jerk to me and throw tantrums and suddenly his mood would change and he'd be all bubbly and sweet.

There was a case in America about a young girl who'd torture animals and her little brother and she'd act sexual towards adult men. She was adopted by a Christian family, normally a Christian family would have left her on the streets for what she did but they didn't give up on her, they got a Dr who deals with childs' cases, it turned out she was sexually abused by her own biological father. Even her older sister who works as a stripper and a prostitute told the foster parents how she once had to pull her drunk father off her. He violated her when she was just a small baby. Her name was Beth something. There was a movie made for her.

Who knows, the monk could be like that too but I'm not saying he was right in what he was doing and I say that as a victim of rape & abuse myself.
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Re: Buddhist monk gets 15 years for sexual assault

Post by chownah »

Hickersonia wrote:
appicchato wrote:
Is it common to hold beauty pageants in Buddhist temples?
Semantics aside, in Thailand it is not uncommon... :popcorn:
This is just silly... parade a bunch of young women wearing flashy dresses around in a place where practitioners of strict celibacy are dwelling...
You have to understand (actually you don't have to) that in Thai culture the temple is a civic centre as well as a religious center. In my village just about all community get togethers happen at the temple grounds which means that although some westerners might think that some of what goes on is inappropriate it should also be realized that it does tend to keep some activities from getting too far out of hand which is a blessing for the community.
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