Kerala Rape Survivor Moves To Supreme Court Seeking Permission To Marry Her Rapist

A woman who had been raped as a minor by Catholic priest Robin Vadakkumchery in 2016 in Kerala, moved to Supreme Court on Saturday seeking permission to marry the convicted rapist.

The top court is going to hear the rape survivor's appeal on Monday.

The convicted rapist, Vadakkumchery has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment after he was found guilty in 2019 by a court. He was found guilty of raping and impregnating a minor in 2016.

After the verdict, Vadakkumchery was removed from the priesthood and was finally defrocked last year. The survivor belongs to the parish where the convict worked as a priest. In May 2016, the minor had just written class 10 board exams, she visited the priest's parsonage reportedly for some data entry work along with other girls.

When she was alone, the priest took the girl to his bedroom where he raped her. He sent her home after telling her to not reveal the incident to anyone. The survivor kept quiet for a long time and was performing her routine tasks every day. She was going to school and attending the local church mass.

The girl had conceived after the rape but nobody noticed the changes in her body. On February 7, 2017, it finally came to light when the girl developed severe pain in her abdomen. After going to a nearby hospital, she was referred to Christu Raja Hospital in Koothuparamba of Kannur district. The establishment is run by nuns of Sacre Heart Congregation. After running tests, it was found that the girl was pregnant. She soon gave birth.

The survivor revealed the incident to her mother and told her what had happened at Vadakkumchery's parsonage. The family then took up the matter with the priest. He had offered to pay the hospital bill of Rs 30,000.

After several attempts at covering up the case, Robin Vadakkumchery was finally arrested in Kochi in February 2017. A court in its verdict ruled him guilty after two years. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2020.

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