Indian priest pleads guilty to sexually assaulting girl

Washington: An Indian priest, who was extradited to the US last year, has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in the US state of Minnesota in 2005. Rev Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul, 60, was extradited to the US last November from India in connection with the case. He faces up to 15 years in prison at his sentencing scheduled for June 15. Jeyapaul had fled to southern India in September 2005 after he was accused of molesting the girl. Wanted in the US on sexual assault charges, he was arrested by Indian Police in March 2012. He pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in one case. The victim, now 25, had accused Jeyapaul of forcing her to touch him and abusing her.