An application has been moved today before the Goa Children's Court by Mr. Anthony Frois uncle of the minor girl allegedly molested by Ribandar Parish priest Fr. Newton Rodrigues seeking steps to ensure that the accused priest does not leave Goa.
The application comes in the wake of the reported decision to move Fr. Newton Rodrigues from Ribandar Church and to send him on a long-term assignment to a church in the United States of America. The application is expected to come up for hearing when the Court meets for its weekly hearing on Friday 31st December. In his application Mr. Frois has submitted that the accused priest is likely to leave Goa anytime to avoid standing trial for the offences committed and thereby frustrate his prosecution. It has been further submitted that as the accused priest is likely to flee justice it was imperative that the Court exercises its powers to take cognizance of the offences committed and ensure the presence of the accused priest at the trial by issuing a warrant of arrest or other process and by not allowing the accused priest to abscond. It may be recalled that the Children's Court headed by South Goa District Judge A.D.Salkar after hearing arguments advanced on the maintainability of Mr. Frois private criminal complaint has fixed the matter for January 7th for orders. On Dec 24th last year before the X'mas midnight mass Fr. Newton Rodrigues allegedly took the 13-year-old Ribandar girl to a room in the church on the pretext of taking confession and molested her. Fr. Newton Rodrigues is the first Roman Catholic Priest in Goa against whom the police have registered an F.I.R for an offence of molestation but till date have not arrested the accused priest. Meanwhile a contempt of Court petition filed against Inspector Mrs. Ezilda D' Souza for not complying with her statement on September 17th to the High Court that the accused priest would be charge-sheeted shortly is already pending before the Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court.
