British national leaves country two weeks after Tamil Nadu court convicted him in a child abuse case

British national and a retired priest Jonathan Robinson, 76, who was awarded three years imprisonment by a Tirunelveli court recently for sexually abusing a boy has left the country after informing the local police over an email.

“As per the court’s bail condition, he was asked to inform the police station before leaving the country. We have got an email from him informing his travel,” Valliyoor police inspector Annalakshmi told DNA. She, however, said she has no information on whether he has left the country or not.

Robinson, a retired priest, was convicted by Valliyoor judicial magistrate M Senthil Kumar on April 13 with suspended sentence pending appeal. The condition of the bail was that he have to inform the local police before leaving the country.

D Kanagaraj, deputy superintendent of police, Valliyur said that Robinson has filed an appeal against the lower court order and intimated us about his decision to leave the country as per the bail condition. Police sources in Chennai said that Robinson has indeed left the country on Wednesday.

Advocate Adrian Phillips, spokesperson for Justice and Care, the organisation on whose complaint the police registered the sexual abuse case against Robinson in August 2011 said that they got an information that he has left the country by an Etihad flight to London via Abu Dhabi.

“For nearly eight years we has been working on this case along with prosecution and police. Now finally he was convicted. If he leaves the country, then everything comes to nothing,” he said.

In fact, Robinson who had left the country was forced to come back and face trial in a court of law. The victim, the boy, was sexually abused by Rev Jonathan when he went on country wide trip along with the boy in April 2011. Following the NGO’s tip off, the Valliyoor police registered a case against the British national. When Jonathan fled for Wales, the Judicial Magistrate issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him. The police then followed it up with a red corner notice.

After the Madras High Court directed the police to withdrawal of the red corner notice to enable to arrive to India to face the trail, he surrendered before the magistrate on November 27, 2015.