Mangaluru priest lured 5 boys with chocolates, sexually abused them; arrested

A Mangaluru priest was arrested after an NGO flagged allegations of sexually abusing minor boys. The case raises questions over the diocese's reported handling of earlier complaints.Mangaluru,Oct 18, 2026 23:46 ISTA priest associated with a church in Mangaluru has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing minor boys after a Mysuru-based non-governmental organisation intervened, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Police said preliminary inquiries indicated that at least five children had allegedly been sexually assaulted. The accused, identified as Father Cyprian Pinto, was arrested from a relative's residence on Sunday.Pinto, who has been in service since 1988, was associated with St Vincent Ferrer Church in Valencia, Mangaluru.Investigators said he was arrested after the NGO Odanadi brought the matter to the attention of Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy. Police officers then met the affected boys and helped register a formal complaint, PTI reported. The complaint cited specific incidents, including one in which the priest allegedly offered a minor boy chocolates, made inappropriate remarks and took him to a room near the church sacristy.In another alleged incident on August 14, a minor who had visited the church for a discussion related to prayers was taken to the receptionist's room and inappropriately touched, according to the complaint. K V Stanley, co-founder of Odanadi, alleged that the matter was first brought to the notice of the Mangaluru diocese in August. He said the diocese formed an internal inquiry committee and sent the priest on administrative leave instead of reporting the allegations to the appropriate authorities.After letters from the parents to child protection authorities reportedly failed to prompt immediate action, the family approached the NGO. Its intervention led the police commissioner to take up the matter and an FIR was subsequently registered.The priest was arrested after the NGO's intervention, with police investigating allegations that at least five minor boys were sexually assaulted.- Ends