Authorities from the Department of Children and Youth (Chiang Mai) visited the temple day and interviewed eight novices who lived in the temple who reported that ten other novices and monks had been sexually assaulted over the years by the abbot.
The abbot told CityNews that he had no idea what anyone was talking about and that he would be defrocked, as per system, and will look at evidence before he says anything about his innocence or guilt.
Many villagers we spoke to said that they had always respected and admired the abbot who had never been seen to violate any precepts and had behaved impeccably over the years. This appeared to be news to most of the monks at the temple as well as many villagers.
Police say that they have received many testaments over the past days relating to sexual predator behaviour by the abbot and that it was mostly younger novices who were victims, most of them dared not say anything against the abbot.
