- A 50-year-old Hindu priest from the US was arrested in Canada for sexual assault
- Rajendranauth Doodnauth Maraj was hired to perform a religious ceremony in Oshawa
- He deceived the victim by claiming she was possessed by evil spirits needing healing
A 50-year-old Hindu priest from the United States has been arrested for sexually assaulting a woman under the pretext of a religious ceremony in Canada, the police said on Wednesday.
The accused, Rajendranauth Doodnauth Maraj from New York, was hired by a family in Ontario's Oshawa to perform a religious ceremony.
The police in Durham said he "deceived the victim into believing she was possessed by evil spirits and needed a specific ceremony to heal herself.
He then took her to a private location and sexually assaulted her under the guise of performing a religious ceremony, they said.
Officers later arrested him and charged him with one count of sexual assault. He was held for a bail hearing.
The police said they believe that there could be other victims as well.
Anyone with information about sexual assault or similar incidents is asked to contact the police.
