Court upholds 10-yr. sentence on Pastor for rape of minor

2026-01-29 - 11:24

The Court of Appeal upheld a sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment imposed on a Pastor attached to a church at Kottukachchi in the Puttalam District, for raping a 15-year-old girl after developing an acquaintance with her and subsequently inviting her to serve god. The accused had been indicted before the Puttalam High Court by the Attorney General for committing the offence of rape of a minor, punishable under Section 364(2) of the Penal Code, in relation to incidents alleged to have occurred on or about July 20, 2002 and July 19, 2003. Following the conclusion of the trial, the High Court in 2025 convicted the accused and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. The Court also imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 and ordered the accused to pay Rs. 300,000 as compensation to the victim. At the time of the commission of the offence, the victim was a 15-year-old girl. During the relevant period, the church was under construction near the residence of the victim’s sister, and the accused had been appointed as its Pastor. The accused developed an acquaintance with the victim and subsequently invited her to serve god. Driven by a desire to serve god, the victim moved into the house where the accused resided with his family. It was alleged that during this period, the accused raped the victim on several occasions and that she later revealed that she was pregnant. Following this revelation, the victim returned to her sister’s house, disclosed the incidents, and lodged a complaint against the Pastor. An investigation was subsequently initiated, and the victim was subjected to a medical examination. DNA testing of the accused, the victim and the child confirmed the accused’s paternity. Delivering the judgment, Court of Appeal Justice Amal Ranaraja, with Justice Sasi Mahendran concurring, observed that the Court was not inclined to interfere with the conviction or the sentence imposed by the High Court. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed by the accused without costs. Deputy Solicitor General Yuhan Abeywickrama appeared for the Attorney General. (dailymirror.lk) (Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailymirror.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)