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Memorandum to the ISKCON Board of Education on the Mayapur gurukula child molestation investigation, with the Ad-Hoc Investigation Team's report of 11 July 1991
Bhaktividya Purna Swami (Principal) and Naresvara dasa (co-director, ISKCON Mayapur); report by the Ad-Hoc Investigation Team
Memorandum to the ISKCON Board of Education on the Mayapur gurukula child molestation investigation, with the Ad-Hoc Investigation Team's report of 11 July 1991
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BHAKTIVEDANTA GURUKULA VILLAGE
SRI DHAM MAYAPUR
MEMORANDUM
of Ed ucat io n c/ o Sr i Ra ma da sa , an d HH Go ur
TO: ISKCON Board
Govinda Swami
CC: ISKCON Mayapur GBC zo na l se cr et ar ie s, al l GB C me mber s,
Gurukula parents.
tio n in ve st ig at io n an d su bs eq ue nt ac tio n.
RE: Recent child molesta
Ple as e ac ce pt ou r hu mb le obeis an ce s. Al l glor ie s to Sr ila
Prabhupada.
e pa re nt s of a 5 ye ar ol d da y stu de nt in th e Ma ya pu r
On 5 July th he r co mm unity
gurukula re po rte d to sc ho ol au th or iti es an d ot
members that their son had been molested th by som e pre-teen-aged
students. This revelatio n, ‘to ge th er wi th at of an othe r in cid ent
between a 7-year old day student and a 14-year-old which had come
to light tw o da ys be fo re , promp ted re sid en t GB C To sa n Kr ish na
dasa and othe r pa re nt s to ca ll fo r a fu ll sc al e in ve st ig at io n
into child abuse at the Mayapur gurukula.
The inve st ig at ion tea m ap po int ed , as pe r the GB C re so lu tio n #90-
119, was Adi Karta da sa , rece nt ly ar riv ed Ge ne ra l ma na ge r of th e
gurukula, Dayarama dasa , co -g en er al ma na ge r ISK CO N Ma ya pu r (b ot h
Mayapur Administr at ion Co un cil me mb ers ) an d Bh ak tar up a da sa .
Tosan Krishna dasa also participated on the team.
During six days of intensive work by this team nearly every
student and many tea ch ers we re int erv iew ed . The tea m subm itte d a
writen report to us on 11 July which named 10 serious
perpetrators among the students (with ages ranging from 10-19),
two serious perpetrators from the greater devotee community, one
suspected perpetrator aged 22 from the gurukula non-teaching
sta ff, thr ee min or pe rpe tra tor s amo ng the stu de nts (ag ed 10 -15 ),
and 16 additional boys who were victimized by the perpetrators to
one degree or another but did not contaminate others.
58 boys and the entire teaching and administrative staff were
cleared of involvement.
We, the gurukula administration took immediate action on the
report expelling all of the perpetrators. In a determined effort
to eliminate this problem, as well as others, a couple of the
'yictim-only' and a few boys not mentioned in the report were
also moved out of the school. Most of the expelled students have
been sent home, although a few boys for whom we felt proper
arrangements could be made will be engaged outside of the
gurukula or at other temples. :
Much soul-searching has also gone on simultaneously, and some
e n tified a s c o nt r ib ut ing t o t h e p r o b lewmee . B o
a y
e s
b e e n id c h o o
ffraocmtorloswh-acvlaess back-groundsf wqeuraeliafieccdeptsetdaffiningth. e This resulte
s l,
sa a general lack o
tbhoethre inwsufficent practical, abasottrebnintgionengaangdemencouragement.
ent to
lus t a s we ll a s
csoomnetrogel ntehrealir discussions were mes on
t io n a n d s p ec c c o u n se ll in
ctiveg f o r t
e h os e w h o h ad
t a
c o
e n
is
v
T
general p
there was
r
a
e
la
been molested w
c k
h en
o f a
th ey
C
w
e
e r e y o u n ge r .
u r t he r
Additrehensive counselling program using devotee counsellors
n a l s t e p s a r e p la n n e d t o p r e v e nt f
io
~— pcoromfpessional techniques will be implemoelentestdatiofonr will be- Pr gigi
b o y s . G e n e r a l e d u c a ti o n p r o g r a m s e
o
w
n a
m
d m is s io n s to :
.implemencte v e r y s tu d e n t.
d for etil improved vocational and gener N
remain loasreed upunand running. Krodesvara dasa, former
programs u s tr a li a , w ill b e jo in
New Nandagramwork exclusively on building the vocationa
farm in A
onegramomn.thOtother staff for this program will be vigorousl
paro
s we ll a s a du lt s ta ff fo r g e n e ra l s u p e r v is io n .
a ti o n p ro b le m s b e t ll t
There were also some c
t af f a n d p a r eno m
ts
m
.
u
Mnic
eetings w e re h e ld w it h a
jun io r s a jo in t m e eti n g . i
the parents a
lt
s
w
w e
it
ll
h
as
in th e s h o r t te rm it se e m s th a t of
have be e n d e a g s , a n e w th in g f o r
is requeirnedagreed upon to try to resolve any long term problems
. R e gu la r P .T .A . m e e tin
have be
communication.
p ro g ra m s W ® w il l r e q u
t ir
ra e
in |
in g e
O e
In o rd er to im
n
p
c
le
e
me n
outsid
fr
t
om
th
e e
s oaubroc ve
e s , b o th in th e fo r m o f n .
a s s is t a e ll a s h e lp to im p ro v e th e s t a f f in g p o sit io
~“~the staff as w s e n t to th e B o a rd o f
c if ic r e p o rt h a s b e
AEdduecatatiiloend aalonndg swpeith the Mayapur GBC zonal representatives.en
to h a v e to b e th e b e a r e r o f th e s e k in d o f
W hilinegswe thaere gosoodrryside of it is that these thingsut hiatv.e Wcoemepratoy to
tidht and we have been able to do something abo intain the purity
liKrgishna that we will be able to increase and mags are required
of th e g u r u k u la h e re , a n d o f c o u r s e y o u r b le s s in
in this end -vour.
o w if th e re is a n y o th e r s e r v ic e th a t w e c a n d o
s k n
Please let u ard to these matters.
for you in reg
Your servants,
Bhaktividya Purna Swami Naresvara dasa
Principal co-director ISKCON Mayapur
JUL
viel lie 991
TO THE MAYAPUR GURUKULA BOARD OF EDUCATION
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to
Srila Prabhupada.
Attach ed is ou r re po rt on the ch ild m ol es ta tio n
situatio n at the Ma ya pu r Gu ru ku la. Th is re po rt is no t me an t fo r
public consumpt ion, bu t an ot he r re port base d on this sh ou ld be
prepared by your good selves, which can be made public.
This repo rt m ay al so be th e ba si s fo r th e re po rt
required to be submitt ed to th e Ma ya pu r G .B .C .'s an d Bo ar d of
Education. As Ma yapur is an In te rn at ion al Pr oje ct, di rect ly
under the G.B.C. Body , pe rhap s yo u w ill pr ep ar e a ve rsio n to be
Circulated to all G.B.C. members.
ow if yo u re quir e an y fu rth er service
Please let us kn
from us.
Your servants,
The Ad-Hoc Investigation Team.
Tosan Krsna dasa Adikarta dasa
Bhaktarupa dasa Dayarama dasa
No te: Th e Ma yapu r Gu rukula Board of Ed uc at ion l (M GB oE ) has
inserted the details of the actions taken.
MAYAPUR GURUKULA CHILD MOLESTATION
REPORT OF AD-HOC COMMITTEE
11 JULY, 1991
A. SERIOUS PERPETRATORS.
1) e p e e ag ed 17 , in- ch ar ge of labor er s, tea cher of
mantra chanting. as abused when younger in Mayapur Gurukula.
Repeated incidents of homosexual attack of many boys of
different ages. Threatened many boys. Encouraged other older
boys to‘engage in similar activities. Lied to investigators.
TE
MSSRS
Was previously warned - did not stop. Known as a bully
or
throughout the Gurukula. Candrasekhera told many boys not to
associate vith him. Was responsible for handling Gurukula funds
- an investigation into possible embezzlement by him is
recommended.
He was kept confined for 48 hours during investigation
- eventually confessed to nearly everything. Was beaten with a
stick by senior Bengali devotees during interrogation % not
severely. Pankajanghri Prabhu witnessed no marks on his body.
Temple Administrative Council, in emergency session, voted to
expel him from Mayapur, and did not recommend that he be engaged
in ISKCON work elsewhere.
2) pI aged 19, Abused several younger boys, threatened
many boys. Lied to investigators, but confessed immediately
under threat of being beaten. Was not hit.
He was kept confined for 48 hours during investigation.
Temple Administrative Council, in emergency session, voted to
expel him from Mayapur.
3) [RRM aged 16. Not present in Mayapur during
investigation. Several younger boys reported that he abused
them. Recommended that if he returns from his house, that he be
kept separate from the Gurukula, and be immediately questioned
about his involvement in these activities.
MGBoE Action: Will act as recomended, but we do not
expect that he will return after hearing about what is going on.
4) aged 19 - work in-charge for many boys.
Abused several younger boys. Threatened boys about talking to
investigators. Did not co-operate at first, was struck with a
stick, then confessed. Was confined overnight during
investigation. Separated from Gurukula. Since then kept with
brahmacaris.
Recommend that he not return to Gurukula. Also if he
remains in Mayapur his presence may upset some of his victims, so
he should be sent to another temple under strong leadership.
MGBoE action: Arranging for him to be moved to another
temple, preferably with a strong program. Will inform authorities
about the problem.
: 5) a. aged 12. Repeatedly abused two small boys.
Did not co-operate with investigation and was heavily slapped.
First confessed to abusing the small boys, then, after more
Slapping, reported that he had been abused by i and
a
Recommend that he be sent home. It is doubtful that he
will be able to control himself in the future.
MGBoE action: Sent home to Jessore. Informed local
temple regarding situation.
: 6) a, aged 12. Repeatedly abused at a young age.
Engaged in homosexual activity with many other boys his age.
During investigation was seen threatening
behalt of
the small boys on
ecommend he be sent home.
MGBoE action: Pending further investigation.
7) a. aged 14. Repeatedly abused at a young age and
was involved with many other boys. Was co-operative with the
investigation.
Unlikely that he will be able to keep himself aloof
from bad association and from controlling his sexual urges.
Recommend that he be removed from the community - not
just sent "home" to the goshalla where his devotee parents live.
MGBoE action: Arranging with his father to move him
away to live with relatives.
8) a, aged 13. Repeatedly abused at a young age and
abused smaller boys - including a 5 year old. Classroom teacher
reports that he is of sub-normal intelligence. Co-operated with
investigation.
Recommend unsuitable for the Gurukula.
MGBoE action: Same as 7 above; they are brothers.
9) QM aged 10. Abused smaller boys, including a
five year old. Co-operated with the investigation. Questionable
whether he is suitable for the Gurukula.
MGBoE action: Sent home to Jagannath Mandir.
10) (RRM, aged 14. Was abused by an older boy. Abused a
younger boy. At first he lied to investigation, was slapped,
then confessed.
Recommend he be sent home, as may not be able to
control himself in the current situation.
MGBoE action: Sent home.
11) Devashish, (devotee at Jagannatha temple). Fondled about 8
enga ged in an y IS KC O N te m p le ,
Recommend that heconntotrobe
boys and attempted worse.
| l himself whenever he is near a
as he will not be able to
young boy.
MGBoE action: Sent away.
B. SUSPECTED PERPETRATORS.
Nama Hatta Devotee - A llegedly
1) addu, aged 90.
VDa se ve n year ol d to hi s ro om . When the boy
repeatedly in vite d a
went in one time, the old man fondled him. g or st ay in g in
Recommend he be ba nn ed fro m vi si ti n
Mayapur.
W ill en sure th at th e ab ov e re co mm enda tio n
MGBoE action:
is carried out by temple administration.
ur uk ula he ad co ok . Ab us ed at a
2) ERM, aged 22a , wiGtness, aged 14, cone iyerng ty
young age. One small boy and by
reported that he fondled the small boy. Dramatically denied
even under threat of stick. -
es re m ain s, he be
ecomm en d th at be ca us e su sp icion s of him
engaged els ew he re in Ma yap ur. Pe rha ps he sh ou ld ge t ma rri ed .
MGBoE action: Moved out of Gurukula.
C. MINOR PERPETRATORS.
1) QE, aged 13. Saw sex films as a karmi. Fondled
another boy's backside. Previously reported and dealt with
satisfactorily.
2) GS, «aged 10. Encouraged a 10 year old boy to
engage in mutual fondling. Co-operative with investigation.
General education program may be sufficient for his
rectification.
MGBoE action: Counselling begun. Parents are due to
visit next month. Will discuss the desirability of moving the boy
to a more structured program in Vrindaban.
3) QR, aged 15. A minor perpetrator.
Recommend that he be sent to the temple side.
MGBoE action: Moved out of gurukula.
D. VICTIMS (ONLY)
1) QM, aged 10. Abused repeatedly by an older boy.
Lied to investigators out of fear of other bo Ss : Finall
admitted after considerable Slapping. ‘
Recommend that he receive regular s peciial counsellin
i
for at least five years. If this is not done, he may become a
perpetrator in the future.
MGBoE action: Sent home.
ae aged ll. Abused repeatedly by seinve ral
2) w ith in ve st ig at ion ev en af ter g
be
older boys. Co -o pe ra te d
threatened by older boys. un se ll in g
e re g u la r s p e c ia l co
Recommend that he receiv
for at least five years.
MGBoE action: Started counselling.
ee . aged 8. rent
Fondled by several diffeat
3)) Co-operated with investig ion.
older boys and violated twice. tioning.
Appeared to be emotionally disturbed during quesfo r as long as
Recommend regular special counselling
necessary.
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
These boys were seriously victimized to one degree or
another. Regular counselling will be required for them as
emotional damage is likely to be substantial.
9) PT aged 14. Seems to attract molesters. He
reported five or six incidents of boys approaching him. Some
rumour of his further involvement which was unsubstantiated.
Recommend that he should definitely be sent home.
MGBoE action: Requested parents to send ticket so that
he can return to Australia.
10) ae. aged 12. Has been the object of many
rumored incidents, but also has reported incidents to Gurukula
authorities regularly, Was not fully convincing in his claims of
innocence and may be holding something back.
His father should speak to him and try to determine if
anything remains hidden. Further counselling may also be
necessary. His initial failure to co-operate is a matter of
concern and should be dealt with strongly.
MGBoE action: Started counselling. Main problem seems
to be very bad attatude with autiorities. Problems seems to be
that his father is one of the leaders in Mayapur and so he thinks
that he can do as he pleases and get away with it.
11) ee aged 11
12) aged 12
*1'3)) aged 12 :
14) aged 12
15) ME, aged 14
These boys reported fondling, attempted fondling, or
attempted abuse by a devotee from Jagannatha Temple. No special
counse llin g req uired - the y see med to be we ll adj ust ed in the se
matters.
16) —ERNNMM, aged 10. Minor incident of mutual fondling
ini tia ted by boy of sam e age . As he als o did not rep ort som e
thievery that he witnessed, he seems to be lacking in
discriminatory ability. Some special counselling would be good.
MGBoE action: Started counselling.
E. UNCONFIRMED ALLEGATIONS
1) QM, aged 15. Many alleged illicit connections.
He was not willing to speak truthfully to investigators
initially, then left Mayapur before allegations could be fully
investigated
Recommendation: (Adikarta and Bhaktarupa) - Gurukula
administration should seriously weigh the benefits he might gain
from continued Gurukula enrollment, versus the possible
contamination he may bring to the other boys.
Recommendation: (Doyarama) - He should not be allowed to come
back to Mayapur.
MGBoE action: It seems that he may not return. Request
Bhakticaru Swami to talk to him before making final decision.
2)
3)
These boys are frequently seen together, and a few
rumors were circulating about them. The rumors appeared to the
investigators as unsubstantial.
4) EMM. aged 14, monitor for small boy's ashram. Some
rumors about him, but not substantiated. Many students
complained about his violent nature, so the staff should be
particularly vigilant that this nature does not manifest in ways
har mf ul to the ch ild ren. His po sit ion as mo nit or of sm all boy s
after only one year as a devotee seems a little ambitious, in
spite of his obvious external qualifications.
MGBoE action: Service changed.
5) QM aged 11. some minor allegation, not
confirmed. Was slapped during investigation.
,
F. | MISCELLANEOUS
e d 1 5 . N o a ll e ga t io n s a g ain st h im , b u t
1 ) p e daeg d ur in g in v e s tig a t ion s . W a s c h a st is e d .
unco-operative attitu to tem ple .
MGBo E a c t io n : Mo ve d fr o m g u r u k u la
1 9 . W a s a bu s e d w h e n y o u n ge r . N o r e c e n t
2 ) a . a g e dx u a l a c t iv it ie s , b u t d u e to la c k o f p r o p e r
tions ndof enhgoamgement, confessed that he was going to movies
allegatio o s e
direc n a There was an ol
regularly.
s c r ip tu r a l k n o wle dge no
girl. Marked lack of
e d e v e lo p e d
standing student. structured p ro
Recommended that a maosre his associa tion may not be so
g ra m b
fot h im o u ts id e the G u ru k u la ,
beneficial for the boys.
under strict authority. Perhaps som
Mayapur would agree to engage him. 4H
temple side in a loose department.
n : S e r v ic e ch an g e d to g u ru k u la k it c h e n .
M G B o E a c ti o p ed o u t. To b e w a tc h e d fo r
struc tr u ed p ro g ra m h ad be e n m ap
A L L
developments.
T E R V IE W E D W HO A PPE A R E D TO B E C O MP LE T E LY C L E AONF
G. BOY S IN
INVOLVEMENT OR ALLEGATION.,
R VIEW E D ; N O AL L E G A T IO N S .
H. BOYS NOT INTE
er e co ns id er ed by teh M GB oE to be not
NOTE: A few other boys who w
u ru ku la ha ve a lsen moved out.
o be
suitab le fo r the g
APPENDIX A:
ee sar a rece ived via Gou r Gov in da Swam i/S ri Ra ma from
Answer to
Incident #1 Devashish - confirmed, devotee to be sent away.
Incident #2 Verified to have been yy - already expelled
from Mayapur A
Incident #3 EE cemembers the incident but denies
locking the door, in any way restricting the movement of the boy,
on threatening him sexually or otherwise. We are recommending
that — shifted to the temple side or another ISKCON
centre.
APPENDIX B:
General comments about the Investigation:
1) The abusive activity was so widespread, the atmosphere
so surcharged with threats to the boys, and the need to satisfy
the parents and community members that strong action would be
taken was so great, that the investigation was done very quickly.
(The report was completed within six days of the formation of the
investigation team.) While we feel that the investigation is
basically complete, some small details should be pursued in the
future by the Gurukula administration, as noted. The possibility
of error should also be noted, and we apologize for any we may
have made. :
_ ee, The staff of the school co-operated with the
investigation. However, the general attitude of the staff
towards the investigation was disturbing. Many seemed to be
down-playing its importance. ~Many have, as yet, failed to accept
that they were neglectful in not preventing the occurances. Many
have failed to demonstrate that they have honest feelings of
sympathy for the abused small children.
33) The Chairman of the Mayapur Administrative Council,
TMSatadhanya Dasa, openly spoke, on at least two occasions during
the investigation, that he thought that too much was being made
of the investigation and that these activities were normal in a
boy's school. This attitude may be more widespread. Discussions
should be held by the Gurukula staff and the G.B.C. Committee as
to how to eliminate this attitude, because it is extremely
dangerous when held by any ISKCON authority.
4) The notes taken during the investigation are very
sketchy, and the investigators memory of the interviews was the
main source of the report. Due to the sheer volume of the
activity, to make a proper report with extensive details would be
an administrative task beyond our capabilities. The Gurukula
staff should note that one of the benefits of the investigation
af fe ct ed child ren w ill be p ar ti al ly
for future dealings with the ediately processed into a
lost unless the notes can be imm
complete investigation report.
APPENDIX C:
- Other recommendations
that whe n the y re port ed in ci de n ts to
=—=— 1) Some boys stated
the school authorities they were punished along wi th the '
perpetrators of those incidents. This was especially true if the
incide nt led to a ph ys ical fig ht be tw een the bo ys. In at least
two case s, fu tu re inc ide nt s ex pe rie nc ed by the se bo ys we re no t
reported ou t of fea r of pu nis hm en t. Di sc ipl in ar y po lic ies mu st
be str uc tur ed in suc h a wa y as to enc ou rag e rep ort ing of se xu all y
related incidents.
2) Admission po lic ie s mu st also be stru ctured to m ini m ise
the number of high risk new students (i.e. those who may be
per pet rat ors or who wi ll not be imm une to [or immuni zea ble from]
becoming involved. Factors contributing to high risk in new
students would be: older boys, boys from lower economic
backgrounds or broken homes, boys not academically inclined,
emotionally disturbed boys etc.Cited in
6- AccusationPhysical and emotional abuse of students as Mayapur gurukula principalBhakti Vidya Purna Swami
- AccusationKnowledge of abuse at the Mayapur gurukula as a Mayapur GBC, and failure to remove its principal (1991–2000)Jayapataka Swami
- AccusationSexual abuse of boys in Mayapur and CalcuttaSatadhanya Dasa
- OrganizationISKCON Mayapur
- PlaceMayapur gurukula (Bhaktivedanta Academy)
- People affectedStudents of the Mayapur boys' gurukulaBhakti Vidya Purna Swami