Dr Pradeep Dissanayake: Melbourne skin specialist jailed for abusing children in cult
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A Melbourne doctor used his “God-like” status as a religious leader to prey on the daughters of cult members, a court has been told.
Pradeep Dissanayake, 52, had his jail sentence for sexually abusing two children increased to 10 years and 10 months following an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions in December.
Details of Dissanayake’s sickening crimes and the power he held over his cult members’ lives were aired in the Court of Appeal as prosecutors successfully argued an eight year sentence was “manifestly inadequate”.
The court was told Dissanayake began preaching a mixture of Buddhism and Christianity to families in 2017 following a trip to Sri Lanka which over time formed into a cult he led.
Dissanayake set strict rules for the sect, including requiring them to praise him hourly, seek permission to shower, and only live with the same gender to ensure “purity”.
Over a period of months the self-appointed religious figure used his devotees’ loyalty to rape one child and sexually assault and groom another child.
He pleaded guilty to offences including five counts of sexual penetration of a child, two counts of sexually assaulting a child under 16 and a grooming charge.
The court was told that in an interview with a psychologist he accepted responsibility for the offending but explained it away through the prism of religion.
Content retrieved from: https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/dr-pradeep-dissanayake-melbourne-skin-specialist-jailed-for-abusing-children-in-cult/news-story/54655f7247035a12be7a03b51fe64b91.
