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Charges stayed in sexual assault case against Indian-origin priest
Originally from India, Savari had served as a priest in Little Grand Rapids and the nearby Pauingassi First Nation for six years prior to his arrest.
Stock image. / Pexels
A Canadian court has stayed all charges against Arul Savari, an Indian-origin priest, on the second day of his trial. This decision came after a nine-year-old girl testified against Savari in a Winnipeg courtroom, according to CBC News. Savari had been accused of sexually assaulting the girl last year in Little Grand Rapids First Nation.
Originally from India, Savari had served as a priest in Little Grand Rapids and the nearby Pauingassi First Nation for six years prior to his arrest. The nine-year-old girl testified on Nov.12, alleging that Savari took her to his bedroom, removed his clothes, told her he loved her, touched her legs and belly, and kissed her. She also reported that Savari instructed her not to tell her mother about the incident.
During cross-examination, Savari's defence lawyer, Tom Rees, questioned the girl's account, pointing out inconsistencies and suggesting the alleged events never occurred. The judge intervened, noting the girl seemed confused by the phrasing of the questions.
On the second day of the trial, Crown attorney Danielle Simard informed the Court of King's Bench Justice Shawn Greenberg that the prosecution had decided to stay the charges after carefully reviewing the evidence following the girl's testimony. Simard emphasized the Crown's legal and ethical responsibility to ensure cases have a reasonable likelihood of ending in conviction, stating "it is not sufficient that something probably happened but rather, 'Can the evidence reasonably meet the test beyond a reasonable doubt?'" As a result, the charges against Savari, who had pleaded not guilty, were stayed.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigation into Savari is ongoing, and they have identified other possible victims.
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