Philadelphia Sikh priest charged with groping minor girl
Victim alleges assaults began when she was a first-grader attending lessons on religious hymns
Balwinder Singh, a 64-year-old priest of the Philadelphia Sikh Temple at Millbourne accused of inappropriately touching a young girl for at least seven years, is set for a preliminary hearing on April 20.
Singh was preliminarily arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Andrew Goldberg after his April 3 arrest, according to media reports. Court records cited by the local Daily Times indicate Singh posted $10,000 bail the same day.
Read: Indian American man arrested for groping two women on a flight (June 6, 2022)
He is charged with unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children, all felonies.
An affidavit of probable cause for Singh’s arrest written by Upper Darby Special Investigations Detective Kevin Knapp said the victim reported the alleged assaults at police headquarters on Jan 24.
She said in a recorded statement that the assaults began when she was a first-grader attending lessons on religious hymns at the temple on Fridays.
The alleged victim said Singh would touch her breasts and put his hands under her shirt, according to the affidavit cited by the Times.
Singh also allegedly put his hands into her pants. The alleged victims said her clothes were always on and that Singh would put his hands under her clothes, according to the affidavit.
The girl disclosed the alleged assaults to a school staff member in January 2014, when she was 12 years old and in seventh grade, according to the affidavit.
She provided a recorded statement to Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Detective Mark Bucci at that time claiming Singh would “touch her boobs and her butt” under her clothes, the affidavit says.
Read: Lead priest at Sikh temple charged with groping girl over 7 years (April 6, 2023)
That investigation was never completed because her family reached an agreement with the temple and Singh that he would have no further contact with the girl, and they would not to go through with criminal charges, according to the affidavit.
The alleged victim is now an adult and is “seeking justice for her assaults,” the affidavit says.
The affidavit mentions that another juvenile female victim had disclosed in 2014 that Singh would touch her neck, legs and torso, but does not say what, if anything, became of that investigation.
