Arrest

August 20, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police on Saturday arrested a top Buddhist monk on a charge of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in violation of strict child protection laws, police said. The 60-year-old monk was accused of abusing the child over a period of one year at his temple in the north-central district of Anuradhapura, police said. Several Buddhist monks have been convicted of abusing children, but Saturday’s arrest is the most high profile case in the conservative Buddhist nation where sex offenders can be jailed for up to 15 years.