Between 2014 and 2026, a disturbing pattern of child exploitation, emotional blackmail, and physical abuse has surfaced within certain evangelical and missionary networks operating under the guise of charitable outreach in Kerala. Exploiting the financial vulnerabilities of poor and tribal families, these forces frequently lure minors into unregistered prayer centres and illegal institutional homes with empty promises of quality education and economic upward mobility.
Instead of receiving the promised care, young victims are instead subjected to forced labour, harsh religious conditioning, and horrific personal abuse, which are systematically covered up through systematic intimidation and the heavy-handed use of institutional influence. These incidents-sparking periodic public outrage, legal actions under the POCSO Act, and local nationalist protests-expose a predatory mechanism where aggressive proselytization agendas aggressively strip innocent children of their cultural roots and basic human rights.
This report exposes 23 documented incidents of child abuse, blackmail, sexual exploitation, and related criminal activities orchestrated by predatory evangelical forces, pastors, and church authorities in Kerala between 2014 and 2026.
Predator Pastor exposes minor boy to exploitation at Elohim Global Worship Centre
On June 21, 2026, a shocking case of institutional abuse came to light in Pathanamthitta when a 17-year-old boy from Anakkara exposed the harrowing torment he suffered at the hands of three predatory staff members at the Elohim Global Worship Centre under Pastor Binu Vazhamuttom. The preliminary inquiry into this evangelical network revealed that multiple vulnerable children trapped within the facility had been subjected to systemic abuse and exploitation. Recognizing the gravity of the predatory behaviour, the Kattappana Police swiftly registered a case on June 17, 2026, while the Child Welfare Committee launched an urgent inquiry to uncover the full extent of the rot within this religious centre.
Absconding catholic priest surrenders sfter serial abuse of minor boy in Kasaragod
On July 26, 2025, Father Paul Thattupurambil, the Vicar of St Paul’s Church in Athirumavu, surrendered before the Kasaragod Court after a desperate attempt to evade law enforcement for his depraved actions. The Catholic priest had subjected a vulnerable 16-year-old boy to repeated, horrific unnatural sexual assaults between May 15 and August 13, 2024. The victim courageously revealed the trauma during a school counselling session, triggering a Childline report and a criminal complaint at the Chittarikal police station. The accused fled the area, prompting police to deploy three special investigation teams across Chennai, Mangaluru, and Mumbai to track him down, eventually forcing his surrender after Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry stripped him of his official ministry.
Evangelical Pastor handed 55-year prison sentence for sacrilegious abuse of 11-year old
On May 11, 2024, an Ernakulam Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act Court handed a severe 55-year prison sentence to 54-year-old Christian pastor Vattamattamchirail Mani of the Mamalakkandam Chamappara New Testament Church for his predatory actions against an innocent child. On New Year’s Eve in 2016, the pastor cynically used the pretext of offering spiritual blessings to lure an 11-year-old boy into a nearby shed, where he repeatedly violated him. Mani used his religious authority to sustain the abuse at both the church and his private residence for two years until the traumatised victim confided in a friend, leading to an intervention by teachers and a doctor that forced the Kuttampuzha Police to act, culminating in the massive prison term and a Rs1.4 lakh fine.
Pentecostal Pastor nabbed under POCSO act after trapping and abusing orphaned boy
On January 17, 2024, the Kattakkada police in Thiruvananthapuram arrested 59-year-old Pentecostal Church Pastor Raveendranath for executing a calculated assault on an innocent 13-year-old boy who had been abandoned by his mother. The predatory pastor intercepted the vulnerable child while he was waiting for his grandmother to return from a hospital, using false promises of hospitality to lure him inside. Once inside, Raveendranath fed the boy cake, exposed him to explicit pornographic content on a tablet, and proceeded to sexually abuse him. Following a swift investigation into the complaint, the police booked the evangelical operator under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, successfully securing his remand in judicial custody.
Absconding Vizhinjam priest under investigation after preying on 10-year old child
On June 26, 2023, a horrific case of child violation emerged from Adimalathura in Vizhinjam when a local priest targeted a 10-year-old boy while his unsuspecting parents were away at work. The priest subjected the young child to unnatural sexual assault, leaving the victim severely ill and traumatized. Upon discovering their son’s deteriorating physical condition, the devastated parents extracted the grim details of the assault and immediately confronted the authorities. The Vizhinjam police filed a case under the stringent POCSO Act and launched a manhunt to track down the predatory religious official, who immediately fled the area to escape legal retribution.
Catechism teacher and serial Conman Monson Mavunkal sentenced to life for exploiting minor
On June 17, 2023, a Kochi POCSO court sentenced 54-year-old Monson Mavunkal, a notorious conman and former church catechism teacher, to rigorous life imprisonment for repeatedly preying upon a 17-year-old girl. Mavunkal weaponized his past religious standing and false promises of funding the victim’s higher education to systematically abuse the minor, who was the daughter of his own employee, starting from 2019. While the self-styled antique dealer was initially exposed and arrested in September 2021 for widespread financial fraud, deep-dive investigations unveiled his horrific exploitation of the young girl. The court convicted him under multiple sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act, additionally slapping him with a Rs 5 lakh fine.
77 year old orthodox church priest jailed for molesting teenage girl during easter celebrations
On April 3, 2023, the holy occasion of Easter was marred in Muvattupuzha when 77-year-old Orthodox Church Priest Shemavoon Ramba was exposed for molesting a 15-year-old girl inside the church premises. The aging priest, a native of Pathanamthitta who had arrived temporarily for liturgical duties, used his spiritual position to assault the minor, sparking a formal complaint from the victim and his immediate removal from church functions. The Ernakulam Rural Police moved decisively by registering a case under the POCSO Act, summoning the predatory cleric to the station on April 21, 2023, where an elite investigation team formally placed him under arrest.
Catholic Vicar arrested for exploiting devout Family’s minor son in Varapuzha
On August 14, 2022, Ernakulam Rural Police arrested 63-year-old Father Joseph Kodiyan, the Catholic vicar of St. Thomas Church in Edampadam, for executing a vile assault on a minor boy. The unsuspecting child had visited the priest’s residence on August 11, 2022, on a wholesome errand to deliver home-cooked food prepared lovingly by his family for the cleric. Kodiyan abused the family’s trust and violated the boy, who later related the trauma to his parents, prompting an immediate police complaint on August 13. Booked under Sections 7 and 8 of the POCSO Act, the accused priest attempted to delay justice by claiming health complications, but he was promptly discharged from Paravoor Government Hospital and remanded to jail.
Catholic seminary instructor sentenced to 18 years for systemic exploitation of four students
On April 30, 2022, the Additional Sessions Court in Kollam exposed a dark network of institutional abuse by sentencing 35-year-old Catholic priest and instructor Father Thomas Parakkulam to 18 years of rigorous consecutive imprisonment. Around 2016, Parakkulam flagrantly abused his authority at the Holy Cross Seminary at Pullamala near Kottarakara to repeatedly subject four vulnerable 16-year-old teenage seminary students to predatory sexual acts. Following an official intervention by the Child Welfare Committee in Thiruvananthapuram, the Puthur police dismantled the cover-up, booking the instructor under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act, leading to Judge K.N. Sujith finding the cleric guilty on all counts.
Orthodox priest intercepts and harasses 17 year old girl under pretext of academic counselling
On March 17, 2022, Father Pondson John, the 35-year-old vicar of the Koodal Orthodox Church in Pathanamthitta, was taken into custody after running a calculated campaign of abuse against a 17-year-old girl left in his care by her trusting parents for academic counselling. The predatory priest targeted the minor twice, first violating her within the church walls during a counselling session on March 12, and then tracking her down to her home the following day when she refused to return to the church out of fear. The victim’s ordeal was brought to light after she confided in a school friend, prompting school authorities to activate Childline, which enabled the Pathanamthitta Women’s Police Station to arrest the cleric and secure his magistrate-ordered judicial remand.
Cult Pastor jailed for life after tricking family and violating minor in Malappuram
On August 29, 2022, the Manjeri fast-track POCSO court brought an end to a horrifying case of evangelical deception by sentencing 51-year-old Pentecostal pastor Jose Prakash to life imprisonment. In a calculated maneuver in 2016, Prakash manipulated an unsuspecting family into believing that their 13-year-old daughter was possessed by evil spirits. Under the cynical guise of conducting “special healing prayers,” the predator isolated the minor and repeatedly raped her on February 17 and 18, 2016, at both her residence and a family friend’s house. The exploitation was exposed when the mother intercepted the girl leaving the pastor’s room late at night with her clothes inside out, prompting a Malappuram Childline report and an immediate arrest by the Women’s Police Station on March 22, 2016, culminating in a heavy life term and a Rs2,50,000 fine.
Predatory household preacher arrested under POCSO act for violating minor girl
On February 20, 2021, the Kunnathunadu police in Ernakulam apprehended a 74-year-old priest named Father Mathew for exploiting his religious access to target an innocent minor girl. Mathew routinely weaponized his role as a traveling preacher, entering local households under the pretext of teaching religious doctrines, which he used as a cover to sexually assault the victim in January 2021. Following the traumatizing incident, the victim’s mother bypassed institutional pressures to lodge a formal complaint at the Kunnathunadu police station. The police acted decisively by booking the elderly cleric under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and securing his judicial remand through a local court.
Evangelical Pastor nabbed for attempted murder of his own 54 day old infant daughter
On June 18, 2020, a shocking incident of domestic brutality came to light in Angamaly, Ernakulam, when 40-year-old pastor Shaiju Thomas was arrested for unleashing a life-threatening assault on his own 54-day-old infant daughter. Driven by malicious suspicion regarding his wife’s character and questioning the paternity of the child, the pastor maintained a toxic environment of routine abuse and domestic discord.
Under the influence of alcohol, Thomas repeatedly slapped the defenseless infant and slammed her onto a cot, causing her to lose consciousness. When the child was rushed to the MOSC Medical College Hospital in Kolenchery, medical professionals confirmed internal bleeding and a critical brain injury, shredding the pastor’s fake cover story of an accidental fall and forcing the Angamaly police to charge him with attempted murder under Section 307 of the IPC and the Juvenile Justice Act.
Syro-Malabar catholic priest absconds after molesting nine year old girls inside church office
On September 20, 2019, a deep institutional crisis hit the Syro-Malabar Church in Chendamangalam, Ernakulam, when 70-year-old Syrian Catholic priest Father George Padayatti was exposed for molesting three innocent 9-year-old girls. The predatory cleric targeted the minor children inside his private office room immediately after they completed their church services and entered his quarters to respectfully seek his priestly blessings. Following intense outrage, a criminal POCSO case was registered at the Vadakkekara police station, and while church authorities were forced to suspend the elderly cleric, Padayatti promptly went into hiding, evading law enforcement as an absconding fugitive.
Catholic boys’ home director arrested after impoverished children escape sexual exploitation
On July 6, 2019, the veneer of charitable outreach was shattered at a church-run facility in Perumpadappu, West Kochi, when 40-year-old Catholic priest and Boys’ Home Director Father George, alias Jerry, was exposed for preying on underprivileged children. The priest attempted to sexually abuse multiple residents of the facility, which supposedly provided shelter and education to impoverished boys. Refusing to submit to the director’s predatory advances, seven courageous boys escaped the compound in the dead of night, alerting a passerby who helped them contact their families. Following a prompt investigation by the Palluruthy police, the cleric was arrested on July 7, 2019, under the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act, and locked away in a Mattancherry jail.
Salvation army pastor sentenced to life until death for multi year assault on 13 year old
On May 12, 2017, a Thrissur special POCSO court handed down a definitive sentence of life imprisonment until death to Salvation Army Church pastor Sanil K. James for a horrific campaign of child abuse. The evangelical operative systematically trapped and repeatedly raped a 13-year-old girl over a prolonged period beginning in 2014. The cycle of trauma was finally broken when the victim confided in her schoolteacher, triggering an emergency child helpline alert and a medical exam that confirmed the extensive abuse. Despite the immense pressure surrounding the trial, the victim courageously testified from an enclosed protective box, allowing Public Prosecutor Pious Mathew to present 32 witnesses and definitive material evidence that cemented the predator’s permanent removal from society.
Fugitive catholic Vicar apprehended at airport and sentenced to 20 years for violating minor
On February 28, 2017, police intercepted Father Robin Vadakkancheril, the former Vicar of St. Sebastian Church in Neendunoki, at Kochi’s Nedumbassery airport as he desperately attempted to flee to Canada to escape justice. The Catholic priest had repeatedly raped a minor schoolgirl, an exploitation that came to light only when the victim gave birth to a baby at a church-run hospital on February 7, 2017. Throughout the trial at the Thalassery POCSO court, the prosecution faced hostile turnarounds from witnesses under external influence, yet Additional Sessions Judge P.N. Vinod meticulously evaluated the evidence to find Vadakkancheril guilty, slap him with three concurrent 20-year terms of rigorous imprisonment, and send him to Kannur Central Jail.
School Principal and cleric arrested for sexually exploiting hostel student over Christmas holidays
On January 1, 2017, the Kunnathunadu police in Ernakulam arrested 65-year-old priest and retired aided-school teacher Father Basil Kuriakose for abusing his position as the principal of a residential charitable school. Kuriakose weaponized the isolation of the Christmas holidays on December 21, 2016, staying back in the hostel dormitory to target an 11-year-old boy after all other students had departed. The child’s ordeal was uncovered when he returned home to Kottayam for vacation and confided the trauma to his elder brother, prompting law enforcement to immediately intervene and book the principal under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and multiple provisions of the POCSO Act.
Vatican dismisses notorious Kerala priest following high profile POCSO conviction
Following a massive public outcry and legal pressure, Pope Francis officially stripped Robin Vadakkumchery of his priesthood after his definitive conviction for the rape and impregnation of a 16-year-old minor girl. The dark reality was unearthed on February 27, 2017, when an anonymous whistleblower informed Kannur Childline that the minor had delivered a child at a church-run hospital, with the infant being quickly transferred to a church foundling home in Wayanad to cover up the crime. Despite the Catholic diocese of Mananthavady attempting damage control through a suspension, the vicar plotted a covert escape to Canada, only to be nabbed at the Kochi airport on February 28, 2017, leading to a landmark 20-year prison sentence handed down by the Thalassery POCSO court.
CSI Church priest caught red-handed abusing 10 year old girl during bible study
On October 8, 2017, a shocking scene of sacrilegious abuse unfolded inside the Kandanthitta CSI Church in Thiruvananthapuram when 65-year-old priest Father Devaraj was caught red-handed assaulting a 10-year-old girl. The predatory cleric chose to target the minor child during a scheduled Bible study session at the facility where he had been stationed for a year. The horrific crime was disrupted when the victim’s father arrived early to pick up his daughter and directly witnessed the priest abusing her. The father immediately contacted law enforcement, leading to Devaraj’s swift arrest on October 9, 2017, under the IPC rape sections and the POCSO Act, resulting in his immediate remand to judicial custody.
Catholic priest handed double life sentence for exploiting counseling to violate minor parishioner
On December 8, 2016, the Special POCSO Court in Ernakulam delivered a decisive blow against institutional corruption by sentencing 41-year-old Father Edwin Figarez, a priest of the Kottappuram Catholic Diocese, to a double life imprisonment term. Beginning in January 2015, Figarez systematically weaponized his religious authority, using the false pretext of spiritual counseling sessions to repeatedly trap and sexually abuse a 9th-standard schoolgirl from his own parish. The calculated exploitation took place directly inside the parish house attached to the church until the traumatised victim broke her silence and confided in her mother. Refusing to succumb to local pressure, the family lodged a formal police complaint, which not only exposed the predatory cleric but also led to the conviction of two accomplices who actively tried to orchestrate a cover-up to protect the diocese’s reputation.
Pentecostal pastor apprehended under POCSO act after trapping and impregnating teenager at convention
On April 30, 2014, the Mundakayam police in Kottayam cracked down on evangelical predatory behaviour by arresting 40-year-old Sajan Mathayi, a pastor at the Israel Pentecost Church in Punchavayal, for the rape and impregnation of a 17-year-old girl. The evangelical operative used an annual church convention held between February 22 and 24, 2013, as a hunting ground, deliberately befriending the unsuspecting minor on the first day of the event to lower her guard. Mathayi assaulted the teenager the very next day and subsequently unleashed a campaign of intimidation, threatening her with dire consequences to enforce her silence and cover up his tracks. The criminal pattern was shattered when the victim’s parents bypassed community pressures to file a formal complaint, leading law enforcement to book the pastor under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act.
Predatory catholic cleric sentenced to prison after exploiting poor child with communion vestments
On December 28, 2022, a special POCSO court in Thrissur brought a definitive end to the horrific actions of 49-year-old Catholic priest Father Raju Kokken by sentencing him to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and a Rs50,000 fine. In April 2014, Kokken, then stationed at St. Paul’s Church, cynically targeted a 9-year-old girl from an economically disadvantaged family by promising her free vestments for her upcoming Holy Communion classes. On multiple dates-April 8, 11, and 24, 2014-the priest lured the child into his private office room under the guise of checking the dress’s fit, where he stripped, molested, and twice raped her while using his mobile phone to record illicit footage. The resilient child informed her parents, enabling a swift police investigation that recovered the digital evidence, which Judge Bindu Sudhakaran used to cement the predatory cleric’s conviction despite the long-delayed legal process.
The horrifying catalogue of these 23 documented cases exposes a deeply entrenched, systemic rot within the evangelical and church infrastructure in Kerala, proving that these are not isolated incidents but rather the symptoms of an unaccountable institutional machinery. For over a decade, predatory pastors and priests have weaponized their religious authority, financial power, and the guise of charitable outreach to systematically target, manipulate, and abuse the most vulnerable children of society. The frequent attempts to shield these criminals, intimidate victimized families, and orchestrate institutional cover-ups-until forced open by public outrage and stringent POCSO interventions-demonstrate a absolute disregard for both human dignity and the law of the land. This disturbing pattern underscores an urgent need for absolute transparency, relentless legal accountability, and a decisive dismantling of the institutional immunity that allows these predatory forces to exploit innocent children while aggressively eroding the social and cultural fabric of the region.
