PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – A 17-year-old Cambodian monk was charged with raping a British woman while taking her on a tour of a mountain cave near his Buddhist temple, a court official said Thursday.
The monk was arrested Tuesday after the 39-year-old British tourist told police she had been attacked at a cave in the northwestern Sampov mountains, a popular tourist destination in northwestern Cambodia, said Sar Yosthavrak, the chief prosecutor of Battambang province.
"He has confessed to police that he raped her during the tour in the dark cave," said Mey Chhengly, a police officer in the province, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.
The woman told police the monk had offered to serve as her tour guide on a visit to a cave near the Buddhist temple where he lived and, once there, he threatened to kill her if she resisted his attack, Mey Chhengly said.
The monk also allegedly stole $55 and a cell phone from the woman, he said.
The monk has been defrocked and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted, said Sar Yosthavrak, the provincial prosecutor.
The Sampov mountains have several caves, many of which are the subject of Cambodian folk tales. One of the caves was used by the Khmer Rouge to execute victims during their 1975-79 regime that left 1.7 million people dead.
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