Murray Denis Ward has been booked under POSCO Act. (Source: ANI)
The Patiala House Court on Wednesday sent 54-year-old British national, accused of sexually exploiting minor boys at blind school, to 14 days judicial custody. The accused, Murray Denis Ward was arrested on Monday after the police received a call from the Blind school complaining about the sexual harassment. A case under POSCO act was registered against him.
According to the complaint filed, Ward “came to the school and stayed there for two-three hours” on Saturday. During that time, the school alleged that he “took the boys to the hostel and sexually assaulted them.” In a statement, the school said, “On Saturday, September 2, evening, our staff spotted a regular volunteer sitting in an objectionable position with a few children. Our staff asked the person to leave immediately and informed the management on phone, since the office had closed. The senior management… met on Sunday morning and, after verifying all facts, immediately informed the police. The police have since arrested the accused for child sexual abuse.”
“We received a call from the school on Sunday afternoon, following which we arrested Ward. In their complaint, it came to light that the children are 14-15 years old. A case has been registered under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. Ward was produced before a city court Monday, which sent him to police custody for two days,” DCP (South) Ishwar Singh said.
As per the investigation, the accused who has been in India since October 2016, was associated with the organisation as a regular donor. He also added that the children in the school had complained about the alleged sexual assault to a staffer and a medical examination was conducted for the same. The accused’s mobile and laptop were seized and “objectionable videos” were found on them.
