KATHMANDU: A Nepali court sentenced a man who thousands believed was a reincarnation of the Buddha to 10 years in jail on Monday for child sexual abuse, a court official said.
As a teenager, Ram Bahadur Bamjon had drawn international attention when in 2005 tens of thousands of people turned up to see the “Buddha Boy” sitting cross-legged under a tree in a dense forest in southeastern Nepal for nearly 10 months.
Court official Sikinder Kaapar of the Sarlahi district court in southern Nepal said a judge had also ordered Bamjon, 33, to pay US$3,750 in compensation to the victim.
Bamjon could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer, Dilip Kumar Jha, said he would appeal in a higher court.
Bamjon was arrested at a house on the outskirts of Kathmandu in January.