Naotunne Thero, who abused six Melbourne girls, sentenced to 9 years in prison

The silence in the courtroom was broken by the angry voice of a victim. As she screamed, "This is a joke," 71-year-old Naotunne Vijitha Thero, who had been highly revered by the Sri Lankan Buddhist community for decades but was now dressed in a grey prisoner's uniform instead of a yellow robe, smiled and waved at his supporters who bowed to him.

This was during a brief pause after he was sentenced to 13 years and two months in prison for sexually abusing six young girls at the Dhamma Sarana Vihara in Melbourne, Australia.

Born in Sri Lanka, ordained at the age of fifteen, and later obtaining Swedish citizenship, Vijitha Thero came to Australia in 1994 to assume the position of chief incumbent of the temple located in southeastern Melbourne. It was confirmed during last year's trial that young girls who came to learn Dhamma at the temple in Springvale and Keysborough between 1994 and 2002 were repeatedly abused inside the monk's residence. In many instances, these crimes occurred while the girls' parents were in nearby rooms, unaware of anything.

Based on complaints made to the police by the adult victims, charges were filed against the monk in 2023. The court found him guilty of nine serious sexual offense charges involving a child and eight charges of committing indecent acts with a child. Sentencing him, Judge Pradeep Tiwana stated that the monk, who was a respected figure in society, had a "dark and disturbing side."

The judge emphasized that due to the immense respect devotees had for the monk, parents left their children alone with him without any suspicion, and he had heinously betrayed that immense trust. It was further stated in court that instead of safety, the children who came to learn Buddhism in a sacred place experienced the theft of their innocence. The judge praised every victim who testified during the trial as truthful, intelligent, and articulate.

The impact of these crimes had tormented the victims with fear and shame for decades. "To survive, I had to teach myself to know nothing," one victim stated in her impact statement, revealing the depth of her pain. She further revealed in court that even today, seeing a yellow robe or hearing the chanting of monks causes her severe mental distress, and she still fears that by revealing the truth, she and her family will be labeled by society as "liars," "attention-seekers," or "temple destroyers."

However, throughout the trial, Vijitha Thero maintained his innocence. Defense lawyers argued that no such abuse incidents occurred and that the monk did not even remember who some of the complainants were. They had previously presented to the court that the monk suffered from several illnesses, including dementia (memory loss), and that his health was in a poor state.

After the judge's verdict, court security officers intervened, and the monk in the dock had to stop smiling and talking with his supporters. He will have to spend at least nine years and four months in a prison cell before becoming eligible for parole or conditional release. There is a possibility that the monk will be deported from Australia after completing his sentence, and the court was informed that he has expressed his willingness to return to Sweden. The monk who arrived in Melbourne with great reverence three decades ago must now spend the rest of his life as a prisoner.

Source: ABC News (Australia)