Prominent Buddhist monk arrested over alleged sexual abuse in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan authorities arrested a senior Buddhist monk on Saturday for the alleged sexual abuse of an underage girl, police said, marking the highest-profile case involving clergy in the country.

Pallegama Hemarathana, 71, was arrested at a private hospital in the capital Colombo where he had sought treatment over the weekend amid an investigation into the alleged abuse of the 11-year-old girl in 2022.

The crime is alleged to have taken place at a highly venerated temple in Anuradhapura, around 125 miles north of Colombo, where Hemarathana is the chief priest. The ancient city is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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

The monk will soon be presented before a judge.

Authorities added that the victim’s mother has also been arrested for aiding and abetting the monk.

The development comes a day after a local court in Anuradhapura imposed a foreign travel ban on the monk.

He has not publicly commented on the charges and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, the BBC reported.

There have been several cases of clergy abusing children in Sri Lanka, but the latest arrest involves the most senior monk to be accused of such a crime.

The 71-year-old is the chief custodian of a tree believed to have been grown from a sapling of the Bodhi tree in India that sheltered the Buddha when he attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago.

He is also the chief of eight highly venerated temples that are on a key Buddhist pilgrim route.

The arrest comes just days after 22 monks returning from Thailand were arrested at Sri Lanka’s main international airport with a record 242 pounds of powerful cannabis.

Buddhist monks have made headlines for other alleged crimes in recent years.

In 2025, Thai police arrested a monk over allegations he embezzled more than $9 million from the prominent temple he ran which was funded by donations from devotees.

In 2024, Thai police launched an investigation of a Buddhist monastery after authorities discovered 41 bodies on site which were allegedly used for meditation practices.

In 2022, every single monk at a Buddhist temple in central Thailand was defrocked after they tested positive for methamphetamine. The monks were sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation.