Tattva Darshan Das
Legal name Thomas Rapanos Wayne
Thomas Wayne
Removed — 2002
Record summary
2 entries — 1 charge pending, 1 allegation.
Last reviewedBio
Tattva Darshan Das (legal name Thomas Rapanos Wayne) took that name in the 1970s after joining ISKCON in the United States, according to the Times of India. He came to India in the 1980s and in 1992 founded the Bhaktivedanta Eco Village, a non-governmental organisation in Karnataka, which he ran with his family. In April 2006 he travelled to Cambodia to set up a branch of the organisation, which he sought to register there as an NGO aiding street children and poor farmers.
In August 2008, aged 55 according to DPA, he was sentenced by a court in Phnom Penh to two and a half years in prison for indecent acts against minors. Which positions he held in ISKCON and his activity after 2008 are not confirmed in the sources reviewed.
Record
2 entries · most established firstIndecent acts against two girls in Cambodia (sentenced 2008)
Cambodian police arrested him in March 2008 in a Phnom Penh guesthouse with two girls; the Times of India gave their ages as 12 and 14, DPA as 12 and 16. The French child-welfare NGO Action Pour Les Enfants said it had tracked his activities for months and tipped off the police. In August 2008 a Phnom Penh court sentenced him to two and a half years in prison for indecent acts against minors, according to DPA, which described the conviction as one for molesting the 12-year-old girl.
DPA described him as president of Bhaktivedanta Eco Village (BEV) Cambodia, “a Hare Krishna-affiliated aid organisation” registered in Cambodia in 2006, and reported that at his sentencing he held a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and a portrait of Krishna (citing the Cambodia Daily). Neither DPA nor the Times of India connects the organisation to ISKCON itself.
- 2008Under investigationArrested on 5 March 2008, according to Phnom Penh anti-trafficking police chief Eim Rathana (DPA), who said the next day that investigations were continuing and that he had not yet been charged. Keo They, deputy police chief of Cambodia's anti-trafficking and juvenile unit, told the Times of India: "We arrested Wayne and rescued the girls."
- 2008ChargedDPA reported on 7 August 2008 that a Phnom Penh court had sentenced him the previous day to two and a half years in prison "for committing indecent acts against minors"; court clerk Keing Bokhea said: "He was convicted but he said he was innocent and he will appeal." Conviction reported by DPA; the court record has not been obtained and the outcome of any appeal has not been found.
Sentenced to two and a half years in prison by a Phnom Penh court for indecent acts against minors (DPA, citing the court clerk). He said he was innocent and would appeal; the outcome of any appeal has not been found.
Police said he denied the charges after his arrest (DPA). His son told the Times of India that his father "was framed by his enemies" and that he would hire a lawyer in Cambodia to seek his release on bail. After the verdict he said he was innocent and would appeal (DPA). [3]
Sources (3)
- [1]The Times of India (TNN), Social worker had faced child abuse charges in 2002, Mar 19, 2008 original
- [2]Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Hare Krishna leader accused of paedophilia in Cambodia — reproduced by Religion News Blog, Mar 6, 2008 original
- [3]Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Hari Krishna leader to appeal Cambodia child sex conviction — via TopNews, Aug 7, 2008 originalcopy on this site
Child-abuse complaint and removal from ISKCON positions
The Times of India reported in 2008 that Indian police had questioned him around 2001 after a child sex abuse complaint from an ISKCON devotee, and quoted the head of ISKCON's child protection team as saying he had been removed from all official ISKCON positions following child abuse charges in 2002.
- 2001Reported allegationHis son told the Times of India in 2008 that Indian police had questioned him about seven years earlier after a complaint of child sex abuse from an ISKCON devotee.
- 2002Documented allegationHari Sauri Das, described as head of ISKCON's Child Protection Team, told the Times of India: "Wayne had been removed from all official positions at Iskcon following similar child abuse charges in 2002." No CPO decision or GBC resolution has been seen.
Removed from all official ISKCON positions in 2002, according to ISKCON's child-protection head (Times of India). No charge or court case in India has been found.
His son called the earlier complaint "a baseless allegation for which my father was questioned and nothing came of it". [4]
Sources (1)
- [4]The Times of India (TNN), Social worker had faced child abuse charges in 2002, Mar 19, 2008 original
People affected
2 people affected · 0 died- A girl aged 12, Phnom Penh, 2008Cambodian police found her and another girl with Tattva Darshan Das in a guesthouse in March 2008. DPA described his conviction in August 2008 for indecent acts against minors as one for molesting her Abused.ConnectionCharged
- A girl aged 14 or 16, Phnom Penh, 2008Cambodian police found her and a 12-year-old girl with Tattva Darshan Das in a guesthouse in March 2008 (the Times of India gave her age as 14, DPA as 16). A court sentenced him in August 2008 for indecent acts against minors Harmed.ConnectionCharged
Timeline
Each status change in this record, on one axis, with the periods of the cases Tattva Darshan Das is involved in.
- 2001
- Reported allegation2001 Child-abuse complaint and removal from ISKCON positions His son told the Times of India in 2008 that Indian police had questioned him about seven years earlier after a complaint of child sex abuse from an ISKCON devotee.
- 2002
- Documented allegation2002 Child-abuse complaint and removal from ISKCON positions Hari Sauri Das, described as head of ISKCON's Child Protection Team, told the Times of India: "Wayne had been removed from all official positions at Iskcon following similar child abuse charges in 2002." No CPO decision or GBC resolution has been seen.
- 2008
- Under investigationMar 5, 2008 Indecent acts against two girls in Cambodia (sentenced 2008) Arrested on 5 March 2008, according to Phnom Penh anti-trafficking police chief Eim Rathana (DPA), who said the next day that investigations were continuing and that he had not yet been charged. Keo They, deputy police chief of Cambodia's anti-trafficking and juvenile unit, told the Times of India: "We arrested Wayne and rescued the girls."
- ChargedAug 6, 2008 Indecent acts against two girls in Cambodia (sentenced 2008) DPA reported on 7 August 2008 that a Phnom Penh court had sentenced him the previous day to two and a half years in prison "for committing indecent acts against minors"; court clerk Keing Bokhea said: "He was convicted but he said he was innocent and he will appeal." Conviction reported by DPA; the court record has not been obtained and the outcome of any appeal has not been found.