ISKCON Abuse Cases Settled for USD 9.5 Million

May 24, 2005

Source: Hindustan Times

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1374570,00050001.htm

On May 24, 2005 the Hindustan Times reported, "A US bankruptcy court has ordered the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to pay $9.5 million (nearly Rs 42 crore) to about 450 alleged victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse at its boarding schools in the US and India.

The abuses relate to the 1970s and the '80s and have been the subject of a long drawn litigation by a group of former students. Some of them have alleged rape, while others have catalogued physical and emotional abuse. The allegations had led to the closure of the US 'gurukulas' by the mid-1980s.

The settlement, handed down on Monday by a California federal bankruptcy court, comes two years after 92 former students of the Hare Krishna organisation slapped a $400 million lawsuit in Texas� on ISKCON. An earlier federal suit filed by them had been dismissed.

Each of the 450 victims will receive compensation ranging from $2,500 to $50,000, depending on the nature of the abuse, its severity and the time factor. Distribution of the funds will begin later this year and will be completed by 2011."