Decisión oficial (Official Decision) de la Association for the Protection of Vaisnava Children (oficina de protección infantil de ISKCON) sobre el caso de Kirtanananda dasa (Keith Ham), dictada el 25 de octubre de 2000 (copia mecanografiada de nuevo, 2016; sin firma, falta el punto 5)

Association for the Protection of Vaishnava Children, Inc.

P.O. BOX 1438 ALACHUA, FLORIDA 32616-1438

904-418-0882 * FAX: 904-418-0982

EMAIL: dgovinda@aol.com

Official Decision on the case of Kirtanananda dasa

This judgment, decided on October 25, 2000, was rendered in accordance with the
guidelines for adjudicating cases of alleged child abuse established by the ISKCON
Child Protection Task Force Report and ratified by the ISKCON Governing Body
Commission. This judgment is the Official Decision of the Association for the
Protection of Vaisnava Children (APVC) on the child abuse case of Kirtanananda
dasa (Keith Ham).

This decision defines the parameters of the relationship of Kirtanananda dasa with
ISKCON. The APVC advises child abuse victims, their parents, and all members of
the ISKCON organization to report allegations of child abuse to governmental social
service and law enforcement authorities. Also, the APVC advises all members of
ISKCON to learn and follow their local laws regarding child abuse and mandated
reporting of child abuse.

Kirtanananda dasa is a white-bodied person who was one of the first persons to join
the movement in the mid-1960s in New York. He took first, second, and sannyasa
initiation from Srila Prabhupada. Kirtanananda dasa has not responded to efforts of
the APVC to contact him. The APVC has provided him full opportunity to respond to
all allegations against him, but he has not replied.

Below are sections of the ISKCON Child Protection Task Force Report concerning
definitions of child abuse.

"T. Child Maltreatment

A. Definition- A broad range of mistreatment of children including neglect, physical,
abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse.

1. Child- a child is defined as 0-18 years of age OR whatever the legal definition for a
child is in the particular country where the alleged maltreatment occurred.

B. Types of Child Maltreatment

B.3. Sexual Abuse- An act of commission ( perpetration) where a child is coerced,
induced, persuaded, enticed, seduced, or entrapped into sexual acts with another
person. The coercion can be either physical or verbal. The other person could be
either an adult, an adolescent (12-18 years of age ), or even in extreme cases, another
child (less than 12 years of age ) The abuser uses his/her position of authority or
power (size, age, social position, cognitive differential) to exert control over the
victim.

a) Forms of sexual abuse include:

(1) voyeurism ("Peeping Tom" ) (2) exhibitionism ( flashing ) (3) taking
pornographic pictures of the child (4) having the child watch while the perpetrator
masturbates (5) forced masturbation (6) kissing (7) fondling (8) digital/object
penetration of vagina and/or anus (9) oral sex (10) sodomy (11) intercourse

Examples: A 14-year-old boy badgers (verbally coerces) his 13-year-old male friend
into anal sodomy by repeatedly calling him a sissy; an ashram teacher fondles a boy's
genital while tucking him in; a father engages in any sexual activity with his
daughter; an aunt has a 9-year-old nephew suckle her breast

B. 4. Sexual Harassment- Sexual harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances,
requests for sexual favors and/ or other inappropriate oral, written or physical contact
of a sexual nature. Such conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, and offensive
environment.

Sexual harassment, as defined above, may include, but is not limited to the following:

a) verbal harassment or abuse;

b) pressure for sexual activity;

c) repeated remarks to a person with sexual or demeaning implications;

d) unwelcome or inappropriate touching;

e) suggesting or demanding sexual involvement accompanied by implied or

explicit threats.

Example: a) A male devotee pats a young girl in an inappropriate place,

or frequently puts his arm around the shoulder of a young teenage brahmacarini. b) a
brahmacari repeatedly taunts and denigrates an young girl, calling her a "Maya devi',
"prostitute", or worse.

Notes:

2. These guidelines do not exempt one from observing local laws. For example, in
Sweden corporal punishment of any kind is against the law. Our parents, guardians,
and care providers are expected to be aware of and observe local laws."

Cultural norms and/or poverty are to be taken into consideration when considering
neglect, corporal punishment, and psychological abuse. Cultural norms refer to
different perspectives on child-raising, discipline, education, etc., according to local
custom and practice... There will naturally be variances in facilities and outlooks on
child care, but at the same time there are basic and universal standards...Cultural
norms...are not a loophole but a factor for consideration. They are never an excuse for
child abuse... ISKCON     is an international organization encompassing many countries
and cultures. While recognizing these variations, there are universal and basic
standards of decency and morals...

Degrees of offense:

Misdemeanors: ...

Definition:

4. precursors to sexual abuse, i.e., the ‘private parts’ were not touched but the child’s
body space was violated with the clear intent of being sexual if the progression had
not ceased."

The APVC has received written, first-hand testimony stating that Kirtanananda
forcefully caressed the genitals and other parts of the body of a 15 year old boy in
1989 in Malaysia on at least two occasions. In 1991, on at least one occasion,
Kirtanananda committed the same acts of sexual abuse against this child, and also,
according to the testimony, attempted to perform oral sex on the boy, who was then
17 years old.

The APVC has received first-hand testimony stating that Kirtanananda engaged in
voyeurism by making the claimant, when he was a boy, take off his clothes and then
watching him take a shower.

Based on the testimonies and documentation described above, this panel has
determined that Kirtanananda dasa committed sexual child abuse. Due to these
transgressions, it is the determination of this panel that Kirtanananda is not permitted
to have any contact with ISKCON or ISKCON-affiliated organizations for five years
from the date of this Official Decision. This restriction includes a prohibition from
visiting an ISKCON temple or participating in ISKCON functions. After five years
from the date of this Official Decision Kirtanananda may reapply to the APVC or the
GBC Executive Committee for reinstatement into ISKCON. This application for
reinstatement will be considered if Kirtanananda complies with the following
stipulations:

1) He must contribute at least $10,000 to an organization dedicated to serving
Vaisnava youth, such as Children of Krishna, the APVC, or a gurukula approved by
the APVC.

2) He must write apology letters to all the victims described in this letter. In these
letters he must fully acknowledge his transgressions of child abuse, and he must take
full responsibility for those actions. Also, he must express appropriate remorse, and
offer to make amends to the victims. These letters should be sent to the APVC, not
directly to the victims.

3) He must undergo a psychological evaluation by a mental health professional pre-
approved by the APVC, and he must comply with recommendations for ongoing
therapy described in the evaluation report and by the APVC.

4) Kirtanananda dasa must fully comply with all governmental investigations into
misconduct on his part.

After Kirtanananda complies with the four conditions above, his application for
reinstatement will be considered. If Kirtanananda dasa is readmitted as a member of
ISKCON, then his participation in the activities of the organization must be
constrained as follows:

6) Kirtanananda dasa cannot reside overnight on ISKCON property or on the
property of an organization affiliated with ISKCON.

7) Kirtanananda dasa cannot lead kirtanas or give class at an ISKCON temple or at an
ISKCON function, or at any function of an organization affiliated with ISKCON.

8) Kirtanananda dasa cannot perform any service that involves association with
children for ISKCON or an ISKCON -affiliated organization (A child is defined as a
person under 18 years of age).

9) Kirtanananda dasa must show this document to the temple president or facility
manager of any ISKCON temple or project that he visits, and obtain a signed
statement that the president or manager has read this decision. Kirtanananda dasa
must send the signed copy of the decision to the APVC.

10) Kirtanananda dasa cannot visit ISKCON property or attend an ISKCON function
if his child abuse victims or their family members are present, unless, uncoerced and
without manipulation, they give their consent.

11) Kirtanananda dasa is not permitted to hold any positions in the ISKCON
organization, or in any organization affiliated with ISKCON.

12) Kirtanananda dasa's tapes, videos, books, and any other paraphernalia may not be
sold at or publicized through any ISKCON entity or an entity affiliated with
ISKCON.

13) If Kirtanananda dasa violates any of the dictates of this Official Decision, then he
can have no association with ISKCON temples or projects until his case is reviewed
by the APVC. This ban means that he cannot enter ISKCON property or the property
of any organization affiliated with ISKCON.

These judgments constitute the minimum restrictions that an ISKCON organization
may place on Kirtanananda dasa . Any specific ISKCON organization may choose to
invoke more stringent restrictions. Specifically, the APVC suggests that the New
Vrndavana community may want to impose stiffer consequences on Kirtanananda,
such as a longer or even a lifetime ban, since that is the community where his
offenses caused the most damage.

While this Official Decision has delineated various restrictions and conditions, the
panel members realize that engagement in devotional service to Sri Krsna is essential
for purification. Though it is not the function of this panel to determine or suggest the
type of devotional service that Kirtanananda dasa should perform, we want to
mention that, within the restrictions described herein, there are countless ways in

which Kirtanananda dasa may serve Srila Prabhupada’s mission, and we encourage
him to do so. Also, we wish to state that the directives described in this document,
such as writing apology letters and contributing towards the betterment of the
children of Srila Prabhupada’s movement, are also forms of bhakti-yoga.

According to the ISKCON Child Protection Task Force Report, Section 5, in cases
where an allegation(s) of child abuse are determined to be valid, the accused may
appeal the Official Decision to the GBC Executive Committee and the ISKCON

Minister of Justice within one month of the date of this decision. The Official
Decision described in this document is effective immediately, and the perpetrator
must abide by its guidelines during the appeal process, should he choose to appeal
this decision.

Judges serving on this case were: Bhusaya dasa, Gandharvika dasi, Isvara Puri dasa.
The Case Manager for this case was Dhira Govinda dasa. The Director of APVC at
the time of this Official Decision was Dhira Govinda dasa.