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Sexual 'Purification' Ceremony Leads To Conviction of Self-Proclaimed Godman

Radhika R Shankar in Houston

Bhogeshwernand (Sean) Sharma, a self-proclaimed Hindu priest, got a chance to thank his gods when the Harris County jury, after deliberating for about three hours returned its verdict on June 24.

Sharma, 37, mouthed a silent "thank you" to the jurors for letting him off with a 10-year probation, a $10,000 fine and 6 month imprisonment for sexually assaulting a college student who had sought his spiritual guidance.

Asserting that the student's boyfriend had put something unholy into her, Sharma offered to purify her womb, according to the prosecutors. What he did was to have sex with the student, the jurors were told.

"It seems as though your conduct is more that of a snake-oil salesman than a Hindu holy man," state District Judge Ted Poe said.

Two other women -- both in Houston -- have come Forward, charging Sharma with sexual enticement, and new charges could be framed against him soon, officials say. The names of the women are withheld at their request and that of their families.

Sharma's wife, friends and family stood by him. She testified that the student and her mother were "fools" who envied her family.

Having assumed the role of a spiritual guide in 1997, when family and friends told him that he had the divine powers to help those in need, Sharma began conducting prayer services around the nation.

According to testimony, the 21-year-old victim, her mother and her mother's sister met Sharma in Arkansas in September 1997 during one of his prayer meetings. Their family friend had recommended Sharma as an apt guru for the college student. The name of the student and the family is held back at their request.

During this visit, the mother and aunt of the victim sought Sharma's help for medical problems. When Sharma returned to Arkansas in October 1997 to "convert" the mother and daughter to Hinduism, he spent more time with the family. The mother and aunt accuse Sharma of coercing them into sex at separate times. The two women described his tactics as a mixture of blessings and rituals mixed with odd prophecies and threats.

Though Sharma has not been charged in Arkansas with the alleged encounters with the mother and aunt, they were allowed to testify in this trial.

A year later, the Little Rock college student visited Houston, seeking Sharma's spiritual guidance to cure her viral meningitis. On April 3, 1998, during one of their counseling sessions at his home, Sharma allegedly told the woman that her boyfriend had put something unclean in her womb and he needed to cleanse her womb of evil spirits with his "holy sperm".

The victim said Sharma threatened her that she would become barren, get sick and possibly die if she talked of the "ritual."

After being charged in April 1998, Sharma's bail was revoked when he was spotted at a local passport office.

Sharma's attorney, Katherine Scardino, says the woman's allegations are untrue and grilled the woman on details in her statement to police. Sharma's family and friends came forward to say that he had never been alone with the three Arkansas women.

The prosecutors said Sharma's alibis lack credibility since most of them were his relatives or friends.

Soon after the sentencing, prosecutor Kelly Siegler, in a surprise move, announced she was charging Sharma with another sexual assault. She announced that two more women have accused Sharma of coercing them into sex by telling them it was the only way they could be spiritually cleansed.

A 20-year-old Hindu woman from Houston came forward and said that on January 6, 1999, days before he was charged, Sharma had used a similar ploy to get her to have sex with him. Siegler said the woman's father called Sharma and his family, but in February they had talked them out of filing a complaint. Although she had had an abortion after becoming pregnant by Sharma, the 20-year-old had agreed to cooperate with authorities when it became clear that Sharma was going to get probation.

Sharma's days of playing guru have ended, for he will not be able to leave the county without the judge's permission, he cannot act as a priest, except for his own family, and he has been ordered to pay the victim's counseling bills, plus restitution in an amount to be determined later.

Instead of conducting prayer services, Sharma will be busy registering as a sex offender, and attending sex-offender counseling and posting a public notice about his crime in a yet-to-be-determined publication or public venue.

While the 21-year-old and her mother said they were also disappointed by the jury's sentence, they have been urging others to come forward.

"If they don't come out, it's going to harm them for the rest of their lives," said the young woman.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors also want a piece of Sharma. With word that yet another Houston woman has come forward to say she had also been assaulted by Sharma the same way as the Arkansas women, The prosecution claims, "We're ready right now," Siegler said. "I can get it indicted tomorrow and we'll go to trial next week."

Defense attorney Katherine Scardino said jurors were right to give Sharma probation and added that she knew nothing about the new case.

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