Surrey RCMP say temple employee sexually assaulted teen, Sikh society denies suspect works there

The Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib in Surrey is pictured.

Update, May 11: The Sikh Press Association walked back its statement on Thursday, saying it was "receiving conflicting information" from the Gurdwara about the suspect's employment. Read more here.

The original story follows.

A man suspected of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl at a temple in Surrey’s Newton area has been arrested, RCMP say.

Mounties say they responded to reports on May 4 that the teenager was assaulted at or in the area of the Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib, a Sikh temple located in the 15200 block of 68 Avenue.

The 58-year-old suspect, an employee of the temple, was arrested on May 5, according to a release Surrey RCMP issued Wednesday.

He has been released on conditions, including that he has no contact with the victim and cannot be in the presence of anyone under the age of 16 without another adult present.

However, the suspect is still allowed to be at the temple, because he lives there as part of his employment, Cpl. Sarbjit Sangha tells CTV News in an interview via Zoom.

Sangha says the temple has been advised of the allegations and the conditions of the suspect’s release.

The investigation is still in its early stages and no charges have been laid, Sangha says.

“This is a very sensitive subject, as a 15-year-old female youth has been sexually assaulted at or near a place where a lot of her community goes to pay their respects. It’s very concerning.” Sangha says. “We do know that there are probably more witnesses out there that know about this incident — we encourage those people to contact us.”

SIKH PRESS ASSOCIATION DENIES RCMP CLAIMS

In an email to CTV News, Jasveer Singh of the Sikh Press Association writes that the incident did not take place on Gurdwara property, including the parking lot, and that the man who was arrested was not an employee of the temple.

“Both of these points were iterated to RCMP by Gurdwara staff. The committee and sevadaars of the Gurdwara remain working with police to ensure a just resolution to the issue. All B.C. Sikh orgs condemn any issues of sexual abuse and will always work to support survivors of such issues,” he writes.

CTV News asked Surrey RCMP for clarification, and in response, the detachment reiterated its original claims.

“As stated in our news release, the suspect is an employee at the temple, and the alleged sexual assault took place at or in the area of the Gurudwara Dukh Nivaran,” police said in an email.