The head monk of a Buddhist temple, Naotunne Vijitha, 70, has been remanded into custody after being convicted on 17 charges of child sexual abuse.

Vijitha faced a four-week trial at the Victorian County Court, pleading not guilty to 19 charges, including sexual penetration of a child under 16 and indecent acts with a child under 16. He was accused of abusing six girls, aged between four and 12, inside his temple quarters, a prayer room, and at Sunday school.

Prosecutors stated that the abuse began after Vijitha moved to Melbourne in 1994 to become head monk of the Dhamma Sarana Buddhist Temple in Springvale, and continued after the temple relocated to Keysborough in 2000. The victims, now adults, along with their relatives and friends, gave evidence during the trial.

Vijitha’s barrister, Nick Papas KC, urged the jury to question the reliability of allegations dating back 25–30 years. However, the jury found much of the evidence credible and returned guilty verdicts on 17 of the 19 charges after a week of deliberations. They were initially deadlocked on one charge of indecent act with a child under 16 but later returned a majority not-guilty verdict. Vijitha was also acquitted of a separate offence of indecent act with a child under 16.

Judge Pardeep Tiwana described the case against Vijitha as strong and the witnesses as compelling. Vijitha will remain in custody ahead of a pre-sentence hearing in December, where victim impact statements are expected to be read.

Support services include the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) and Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800.