THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Catholic priest accused of child abuse while in the US is allegedly living a quiet life in Kerala’s Kottayam district. Jacob Vellian has been accused by a woman of sexual abuse 26 years ago when she was a minor. He was then on a temporary assignment in the diocese of Kalamazoo in Youngstown city in Ohio. Vellian is currently staying in a seminary in Kaduthuruthi, sources said. The victim filed a complaint recently after undergoing a “trauma recovery programme”.

The church in Kerala and the police claimed they had no knowledge of the case or subsequent developments. “As of now we don’t have any information. Paedophilia is a serious offence and authorities there would surely have notified us if they had any suspicion,” said ADGP (Intelligence) A Hemachandran.

The spokesperson of the Syro Malabar Church Paul Thelakkat said he was “shocked and surprised” by the news that “has come as a bolt from the blue”. He added: “We don’t know the veracity and foundation of the news. We will abide by the decision of the US church which is responsible for investigating and acting on this allegation.”