Mangaluru Catholic priest accused of abusing minor boys gets bail

Mangaluru Catholic priest Father Cyprian Pinto, who was arrested on accusations of sexually abusing a minor boy at the St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, has been granted bail. 

The Additional District and Sessions Judge of the Fast Track Special Court 1 in Mangaluru allowed his bail petition on Thursday, October 29. 

Cyprian Pinto was arrested on October 17, two days after a First Information Report was filed against him by the Mangaluru South police under Sections 8 (sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

According to media reports, the advocate representing Pinto Rajesh Kumar Amtady argued that the false allegations were being made against the priest by individuals who were unhappy with the strict rules that he had imposed at the church. 

He also said there had been a delay of over two months between the alleged incident and the filing of the complaint. 

Judge KS Manu granted bail, imposing conditions including that he should cooperate with the police investigation, not tamper with evidence or intimidate witnesses. 

Cyprian Pinto had applied for bail on October 17 but later withdrew the application. 

TNM had previously reported that Mangalore Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha had been informed by members of the Valencia church of the alleged abuse. He had met the five boys who had alleged that Pinto had abused them, along with their parents on August 17. He had reportedly ordered an inquiry, which was conducted by the Judicial Vicar Naveen Pinto. The inquiry report has reportedly been sent to the Vatican, but TNM could not independently confirm it.