2026年5月11日 美国东部时间上午6:16 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
斯里兰卡警方表示，当局周六逮捕了一名资深佛教僧侣，因其涉嫌性侵一名未成年女童，这是该国涉及神职人员的关注度最高的一起案件。
71岁的帕莱加马·赫马拉萨纳（Pallegama Hemarathana）于周末在首都科伦坡的一家私立医院就医时被捕，此前当局正对2022年他涉嫌虐待一名11岁女童的案件展开调查。
据称这起犯罪行为发生在阿努拉德普勒一座备受尊崇的寺庙内，该寺庙位于科伦坡以北约125英里处，赫马拉萨纳是该寺庙的住持。这座古城已被联合国教科文组织列入世界遗产名录。
“我们将依据治安法官的指示采取进一步行动，”警方周六在一份声明中表示。
该僧侣即将被带至法官面前。
当局补充称，受害者的母亲也因协助和教唆该僧侣而被捕。
这一事件发生的前一天，阿努拉德普勒的一家地方法院对该僧侣实施了境外旅行禁令。
据英国广播公司报道，他尚未就指控公开置评，原定将于周二出庭受审。
斯里兰卡此前已发生多起神职人员虐待儿童的案件，但此次被捕的是被指控犯下此类罪行的级别最高的僧侣。
这位71岁老人是一棵菩提树的首席守护者，这棵树据称源自印度菩提树的幼苗，2500多年前佛陀成佛时曾在那棵树下静坐修行。
他同时还是一条重要佛教朝圣路线沿线八座备受尊崇寺庙的负责人。
此次被捕事件发生仅几天前，22名从泰国返回的僧侣在斯里兰卡主要国际机场被捕，警方查获创纪录的242磅强效大麻。
近年来，佛教僧侣因其他涉嫌犯罪行为登上新闻头条。
- 2025年，泰国警方逮捕一名僧侣，指控其从其所主持的知名寺庙挪用逾900万美元善款，该寺庙的资金来自信众捐赠。
- 2024年，泰国警方在一座佛教寺院现场发现41具遗体，据称这些遗体被用于冥想修行，随后对该寺院展开调查。
- 2022年，泰国中部一座寺庙内的所有僧侣均被还俗，原因是他们的甲基苯丙胺检测呈阳性，随后这些僧侣被送往健康诊所接受戒毒康复治疗。
Prominent Buddhist monk arrested over alleged sexual abuse in Sri Lanka
May 11, 2026 6:16 AM EDT / CBS News
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.
This picture taken on May 19, 2023 shows monk Pallegama Hemarathana, the chief custodian of the ancient bodhi tree, showing newly sprouting leaves of the holy tree at Sri Maha Bodhi temple in Anuradhapura. ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images
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.
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