Girl told letting monk touch her would keep grandma’s spirit alive, court told

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This article was published 13/03/2021 (2029 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Buddhist monk on trial for sex crimes claimed sexually abusing a young girl would help keep the spirit of her dead grandmother alive, a Winnipeg court has been told.

Southone Silaphet, 72, is accused of sexually abusing two girls during visits to the Wat Lao Xayaram temple on Sinclair Street.

In a 2019 police video statement played for court Thursday, a preteen girl alleged Silaphet repeatedly touched her under her clothing “in wrong places” while the two were alone in his upstairs office.

“He would tell my mom that he just wanted us to pray, even though it wouldn’t be praying,” said the girl, who estimated the offences occurred over a period of three to four years.

“He’s always been nice… but he did something wrong,” she said.

The girl alleged Silaphet gave her money and warned her not to tell anyone or she would be in trouble with him.

“He would always say ‘I’m sorry,’ but he never was,” she said.

The girl said the incidents never escalated beyond touching.

Silaphet was arrested in 2019 after a teenage girl told her school guidance counsellor she had been sexually abused. In testimony last October, the girl told court Silaphet had molested her during regular temple visits, beginning when she was in kindergarten or Grade 1, and continued until late 2019.

As was done with the other alleged victim, a video interview the girl did with police was played for court, which she said accurately documented her allegations against Silaphet.

The abuse, which included kissing, fondling underneath her clothes and biting, had happened “for as long as I really remember,” the girl told an investigator.

“I didn’t really realize it was wrong until I started hearing more about it as I got older, and I felt I should tell somebody,” the girl said.

The girl said Silaphet told her that allowing him to touch her sexually would help keep the spirit of her grandma alive.

“He said that if (I) didn’t let him do what he wanted to do, it would be disrespectful to (the deceased grandma),” she said.

Silaphet warned her not to tell anyone “or police would be involved,” the girl said.

Silaphet, who lived at the temple, which is a converted fire hall, abused the girl in an upstairs office equipped with security cameras that allowed him to see people coming up the stairs, the girl said.

On one occasion, the girl alleged, Silaphet saw a man walking up the stairs and made the girl hide in a closet until he had left.

“It was confusing,” she said. “That’s when I kind of realized that this was wrong, that it wasn’t supposed to be happening.”

Like the other alleged victim, the girl claimed Silaphet frequently gave her money following the abuse, which “would end by him saying ‘sorry’ over and over again.”

The girl said Silaphet kept a picture of her taken during a ceremonial event and told her he thought of her as a daughter.

“It was really off-putting, because I didn’t want to be his daughter,” she said. “I already had my dad. It was really weird.”

A charity website lists Silaphet as board president for Wat Lao Xayaram of Manitoba, Inc. A listed phone number for the temple is out of service.

The Crown closed its case Thursday. The defence has not yet indicated if it will call any evidence. The trial will resume in April.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca