Sri Lankan Police Arrest Senior Buddhist Monk for Alleged Abuse of 11-Year-Old Girl

Sri Lankan police arrested a senior Buddhist monk on Saturday for the alleged sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl, in what authorities described as the highest-profile case involving clergy in the country.

Pallegama Hemarathana, 71, was taken into custody at a private hospital in Colombo, the capital, where he had sought treatment over the weekend. The investigation centers on the alleged abuse that occurred in 2022 at a highly venerated temple in Anuradhapura, about 125 miles north of Colombo. Hemarathana serves as chief priest there. The ancient city holds UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

"We will be guided by the magistrate on further action," a police statement said Saturday.

The monk faces a court appearance soon and is scheduled to appear on Tuesday, the BBC reported. A local court in Anuradhapura imposed a foreign travel ban on him the day before his arrest.

Police also arrested the victim's mother for aiding and abetting Hemarathana.

Hemarathana has not publicly commented on the charges. He acts as chief custodian of a tree grown from a sapling of the Bodhi tree in India, under which the Buddha attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago. He also leads eight highly venerated temples on a key Buddhist pilgrim route.

Sri Lanka has seen several cases of clergy abusing children, but this arrest involves its most senior monk yet.

The case follows the arrest of 22 monks at Sri Lanka's main international airport last week. They had returned from Thailand with 242 pounds of cannabis, a record amount.

Buddhist monks have drawn attention for other crimes recently. In 2025, Thai police arrested a monk accused of embezzling more than $9 million from a prominent temple funded by devotee donations. In 2024, Thai authorities investigated a Buddhist monastery after finding 41 bodies on site that were allegedly used for meditation practices.