A 50-year-old Hindu priest from the United States has been arrested for sexually assaulting a woman under the pretext of a religious ceremony in Canada, the police said on Wednesday.
The accused was called by the family from New York to perform a religious ceremony in Ontario’s Oshawa.
The accused, Rajendranauth Doodnauth Maraj from New York, was hired by a family in Ontario’s Oshawa to perform a religious ceremony. Officers later arrested him and charged him with one count of sexual assault. He was held for a bail hearing. Anyone with information about sexual assault or similar incidents is asked to contact the police.
The police in Durham said he “deceived the victim into believing she was possessed by evil spirits and needed a specific ceremony to heal herself. He then took her to a private location and sexually assaulted her under the guise of performing a religious ceremony, they said. The police said they believe that there could be other victims as well.
