Jharsuguda: Town police arrested the founder of a social outfit ‘Faith Outreach’ on charge of sodomising a minor boy in his institution here Wednesday.
The accused was identified as John Bridge, the founder of Faith Outreach, a social outfit at Cox Colony in the town. John, originally a native of England, had taken Indian citizenship in 1992.
Later, police produced John in court which rejected his bail plea and remanded him to judicial custody. It was alleged that John had sodomized the minor boy who was reading in the organisation in 2015.
The minor boy in question with the help of his family members lodged a complaint with police after he became an adult and passed out from the institution August 14. John was booked under 586/20 of the POCSO Act.
It was alleged that John was in the midst of a controversy after a New Zealand national had leveled similar charges against him through the embassy.
Sources said John was allegedly involved in sexual exploitation of inmates. Understanding the gravity of the matter, the district administration has entrusted the investigation on a senior police official.
PNN