A Little Grand Rapids priest kissed a young girl on the lips before stripping down and inviting her to have a shower with him, a judge was told Tuesday, the first day of the man’s trial.
Arul Savari, 49, has pleaded not guilty to one count each of sexual assault, sexual interference, and forcible confinement for offences alleged to have occurred at the remote Manitoba First Nation’s Roman Catholic Church on May 27, 2023.
“Father Arul, he did something gross to me,” the now nine-year-old alleged victim said days later in a video interview that was played in court.
Arul Savari, 48, is on trial accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl at a Roman Catholic church on the Little Grand Rapids First Nation. (Facebook)
Savari, dressed in a plaid shirt, jeans and runners, sat behind a protective screen, which prevented the girl from seeing him, following along from a transcript as the video was played in court. He was suspended as priest after being charged.
The girl sat in the witness box holding a large stuffed teddy bear as she watched herself on video.
The girl told the video interviewer she had gone to the church to help clean up after a funeral the previous day when, while still outside, Savari tried to get her to sniff gasoline. The girl said she successfully resisted and Savari took her forcefully by the hand and led her to a bedroom in the church building.
In court, the girl said she felt “nervous” as Savari walked her to the bedroom. She said Savari threatened to cut one of her fingers with a knife and held her hand so tightly she thought he would break her fingers.
The girl said once in the bedroom, Savari took off his clothes and “tried to do something dirty.” She said he tossed his “gitch” at her and asked her to take off her clothes, which she refused.
“He said: ‘Do you want to take a shower with me?’ and I said: ‘No, that’s gross,’” she said on the interview video.
The girl said Savari kissed her with his tongue, while he held her hands and touched her legs and belly.
“I said: ‘What are you doing?’ I was freaking out. I was too young for that.”
The girl said she tripped Savari before running out of the room and blocking the door with a chair. She said she heard Savari break the door open before she ran to her uncle’s home and told her mother what had happened.
“My mom wasn’t that happy with me,” the girl said on video. “She said: ‘Really?’ I said: ‘Yes, it happened.’”
The girl was questioned by police that same day.
Between her video interview and court testimony, the girl’s evidence appeared to contradict itself numerous times. She told a video interviewer Savari had kissed her inside the church and at other times said the kiss occurred outside; she said he removed his underwear, and at other times that he kept it on.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Tom Rees, the girl agreed she never told her mother that Savari had hurt her hand, tried to force her to sniff gasoline or that she had blocked the bedroom door with a chair before running away.
The girl agreed under cross-examination her older sister was supposed to have attended the church with her. Rees suggested Savari told the girl to go back home and not return without her sister.
When Rees put a series of statements to the girl suggesting the alleged assault never occurred, the girl readily agreed, leading Justice Shawn Greenberg to question whether she understood what was being put to her.
The trial resumes Wednesday afternoon with testimony from the girl’s mother.
Savari, who is originally from India, became a priest in Little Grand Rapids after arriving in Canada seven years ago, RCMP said following his arrest.
Additional alleged victims came forward after Savari’s arrest, police said at the time.
Savari remains free on bail.
Little Grand Rapids, a fly-in community, is about 265 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.
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