OCCRP's report, published 28 May 2026 and written by journalist Saroj Pathirana, drawing on data from Sri Lanka's National Child Protection Authority (NCPA): between 1 May 2023 and 1 May 2026, the public and clergy brought complaints against 285 different Buddhist monks, more than seventy percent of them alleging a sexual offence; the NCPA referred 27 of the accused for criminal charges and told OCCRP it does not track how many led to conviction. The article quotes the NCPA's own chairperson describing rising case numbers and its legal officer describing having to press local police to act on complaints, and names one monk arrested but not yet charged as of publication, a case this atlas does not seed given the axis's conviction-only naming bar.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Tier 1: a specialist international investigative journalism and anti-corruption consortium with a named byline, read directly on 14 August 2026, reporting figures attributed to a named government statutory body (the NCPA) with direct quotes from its own chairperson and legal officer. NotesRead directly, 14 August 2026. This atlas cites this source only for the aggregate complaint and referral figures reported for the NCPA. It does not cite it for, and does not repeat, the one named but not-yet-charged individual case the article also describes.
Citation
AuthorSaroj Pathirana
PublisherOrganized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
Publication Year2026
URLhttps://www.occrp.org/en/news/child-abuse-claims-sri-lankan-buddhist-monks
Source Typejournalism
Claims Backed By This Source (25 claims)
This source backs 25 claims across the atlas. As facts: 21 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 connected. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies, 10 claims: 9 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
- Articles, 6 claims: 4 well-attested, 1 connected, 1 general references.
- Denominations, 1 claims: 1 connected.
Well-attested
21Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
General References
2Abuse Inquiries and Response Policies
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