An Indian Catholic priest will spend the rest of his life in jail after being found guilty of raping a child.
Fr Edwin Figarez, 41, was the parish priest at Lourdes Matha Church in Kerala in the south of the country.
He was found guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for exploiting a 14-year-old-girl's interest in music in order to sexually abuse her on multiple occasions between January and March 2015.
The girl told her mother what happened to her in April 2015, by which time her abuser had fled to Dubai. Fr Figarez returned to Kerala in May 2015 and was questioned by police before being detained.
The brother of the priest, Silvesto Figarez, also received a one-year sentence for helping the priest evade capture.
Dr Ajitha, a government physician, was also found guilty of failing to report the sexual abuse after she had examined the girl.
The Kottapuram diocese where he served initially dismissed the allegations against the priest but stripped him of duties after police confirmed the charges were true.
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