Priest convicted of sexual abuse deported to India

BY A STAFF WRITER

MINNASOTA-A priest from Nellore Diocese (India) who was accused of sexual molestation in Blue Earth, Minn., in June 2013, was deported to India on May 14.

A press release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Father Leo C. Koppala was arrested last year on June 8, and charged and convicted for second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child.

The Indian priest had been serving in the Diocese of Winona at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Blue Earth for five years. Before that, he also served at Resurrection Parish in Rochester, Minn..

Officials from ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Bloomington, Minn., escorted the disgraced Catholic priest to India on a commercial flight and handed him over to authorities in New Delhi.

Koppala was arrested after relatives of a 12-year-old girl called the police when the child recounted to them how the priest had fondled her during a visit to their home on June 7. Koppala had been invited to dinner at the home of the child’s grandmother.

Officers from the Blue Earth Police Department on June 8 arrested Koppala and charged him with second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Two days later, on June 10, Koppala posted bail and was released from local custody.

Meanwhile, Bishop John Quinn of the Diocese of Winona acted fast, placing Koppala on administrative leave in accordance with the diocesan policy for the protection of minors, a release from the Diocese’s office said.

To quell fears among followers, the Diocese also said that it had not received any other complaints about Koppala of a similar nature from others in the parishes where the Indian priest had served.

It also alerted the bishop of Koppala’s home diocese in Nellore. Any action to have Koppala removed as a priest from the Catholic Church has to be effected by his diocese in India and the Vatican.

Koppala was convicted on March 31 at the Faribault County District Court at Blue Earth and sentenced to 31 days, with credit for time served, and 25 years’ supervised probation. As soon as he was released from Faribault County, he was arrested by ICE officers and issued a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge.

While in ICE custody, Koppala signed an agreement not to contest his deportation. A federal immigration judge ordered Koppala’s deportation on April 14.

“Koppala held a position of trust in the Catholic Church and the community. He broke that trust. We sincerely hope that his permanent removal from the United States will help the healing process for the victim and the victim’s family,” Scott Baniecke, field office director for ERO, St. Paul, Minn., is quoted as saying in the press release.

Following news of Koppala’s deportation, the Diocese of Winona (DOW) issued a release on May 14, saying it “has submitted a full report to the Vatican Office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which will work directly with the Diocese of Nellore, India, in regard to Fr. Koppala’s future as a Roman Catholic priest.”

It also added that Bishop Quinn had taken extensive measures to ensure the Vatican and the Bishop of Nellore, Rev. Moses Doraboina Prakasam, “are fully aware of Fr. Koppala’s criminal conduct so that appropriate measures can be taken upon his return to India.”