Sean Keen was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of a string of sexual offences

A former Hare Krishna worshipper who spent a decade in a temple learning to be celibate has been jailed for a string of sexual offences on women and children.

Sean Keen spend ten years in the temple in Canterbury, Kent, following the strict religion which forbids sex, unless for procreating, and alcohol.

But after leaving, the 50-year-old embarked on a campaign of drunken sexual abuse which saw him rape a woman on several occasions and give a child a love bite.

He was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court for 18 years by a judge who described him as a sex obsessed 'tyrant'.

The court heard how Keen became a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness and practised at the temple for ten years before the attacks.

Despite vowing to remain celibate and refrain from drinking, he took up a five-can-a-day lager habit and violently raped a woman on several occasions.

He also forced a dog to perform a sex act on him, and sexually abused children.

Keen was convicted of three counts of sexual assault and four cruelty charges.

During his trial in August, the court heard how one victim said Keen had treated her like a prostitute.

Prosecuting Christopher May said: 'He was really angry and he had her by the throat.

'She kept saying "No".

'She struggled with him and they ended up on the floor. He really scared her and said he could snap her neck like a twig.'

Canterbury Crown Court (pictured) heard the man repeatedly raped a woman and abused children despite having vowed to remain celibate after leaving the Hare Krishna temple

One of his victims claimed he had used her 'like his toy' and 'as if she were a prostitute for his pleasure'.

The court heard that two of the people who were assaulted by the man had considered suicide after being forced to endure his 'mental torture'.

WHAT IS HARE KRISHNA? Hare Krishna is a religious movement developed in the 1960s based on a set of Hindu principles. Its followers worship Vishnu, the Hindu deity and supreme god of Vaishnavism. Hare Krishna principles fall into four categories; cleanliness, mercy, austerity and truthfulness. Daily washing and refraining from illicit sex unless for having children are considered ways to stay clean, while not eating meat or eggs are considered acts of mercy towards animals. Austerity encourages followers not to indulge greed or addiction, so alcohol, cigarettes and hard and soft drugs are forbidden. Gambling and lying betrays Hare Krishna's definition of truthfulness so are also prohibited among followers. Advertisement

Judge Adele Williams said: 'You have shown no real remorse or insight into what you put your victims through or the anguish and long-term psychological damage you have made them suffer.

'You were obsessed with sex and became a tyrant.'

Following Keen's conviction a spokesperson for the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) said: 'The individual in question has no current affiliation, position or association with the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He has not had any contact with the organisation for over ten years.

'His actions are abhorrent and criminal and we do not condone them in any way. They are not only a gross violation of our morals, values and code of conduct, but are morally reprehensible for any member of society.