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USA August 10, 1999 VNN4467 Comment on this story Krishna Devotee Faces Rape Charges FROM THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE USA, Aug 10 (VNN) — Copyright 1999 Charleston Newspapers - The Charleston Gazette August 07, 1999, Saturday SECTION: News; Pg. P5A LENGTH: 690 words HEADLINE: Krishna devotee faces rape charges BYLINE: Vicki Smith A Marshall County man who State Police say preyed on members of the Hare Krishna community at New Vrindaban was charged Friday with sexually assaulting and abusing at least five women and children there in the early '80s and '90s. The arrest of devotee James Prins, 50, was triggered by a group within the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Trooper Tom Wood said. The group investigating allegations of past abuse called State Police 10 days ago with word of a victim who wanted to report her sexual assault, he said. "Two troopers began investigating, and it progressed rather quickly, " said Sgt. John Gruzinskas. "It was sort of like dominoes. We interviewed one, which led us to another, which led us to another. "There may still be more victims. It's possible some don't want to come forward out of fear of this individual, " he said. Calls from other alleged victims began pouring into Moundsville as word of Prins' impending arrest spread Friday afternoon, Gruzinskas said. "It's such a degrading crime, " he said. "I think we are going to find other victims who are going to gain courage by the fact that they are not alone." Prins was arrested at his home near the Palace of Gold and was to be arraigned Friday night. Prins attends New Vrindaban's Temple of Understanding but lives on private property, community spokeswoman Amy Hobson said. Police say the victims' reluctance to come forward sooner may be due in part to the timing of the assaults, which occurred when most of them were children. In the mid-to late '80s, the community was under investigation for murder and racketeering. Its former leader, Swami Bhaktipada, went to prison in 1996 after a racketeering conviction, and devotee Thomas Drescher is serving a life sentence in a state prison for killing two disillusioned followers. "At that time, a lot of the victims were very fearful. A lot of them are still fearful, " Wood said. Bhaktipada was expelled from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1987, and the community he founded was kicked out soon after. More than two-thirds of his followers left, and only about 250 devotees remain in their Northern Panhandle village. New Vrindaban was readmitted to ISKCON on a two-year probation last summer. Wood said the felony charges against Prins range from sexual assault in the first degree, which involve the adult victims, to sexual abuse, which involve the juveniles. All of the victims were members of New Vrindaban at one time, but some no longer are, he said. The assaults occurred at various locations in New Vrindaban and on Prins' private property, Wood said. Rebecca Cornia, an attorney who serves on New Vrindaban's board of directors, said community leaders will assist police with their investigation. "We are all obviously appalled by abuse of women or children in any context, " she said in a prepared statement. "These are ongoing problems in every society in the world. "Our community is making continuing efforts on the local, national and international levels to ensure that we both educate and protect our members, " she said. "Allegations of abuse are taken seriously and our policy is to cooperate fully with law enforcement officials." Cornia said ISKCON has worked in recent years to prevent sexual abuse in their communities. The National Child Protection Office in Alachua, Fla., investigates individual members who are accused of misconduct and offers counseling to victims, she said. A lawsuit filed against ISKCON last fall charges that the organization's leaders knew for at least a decade that suspected sex offenders worked among 2, 000 children in Krishna boarding schools in the '70s and '80s. No specific communities are named in the lawsuit. At New Vrindaban, all but a few of the youngest children are now in public schools in Marshall County. In May, ISKCON leaders announced they would spend $ 250, 000 a year to investigate past allegations of abuse and help victims. Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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