KATHMANDU, June 12: Kavre District Court on Monday convicted former senior United Nations official Peter Dalglish of sexually assaulting children in Nepal. The court, however, is yet to pronounce sentence on the Canadian national.

“He has been found guilty of sexually assaulting children,” said Thakur Trital, registrar of Kathmandu District Court, adding, “The next hearing slated for July 8 will determine his sentence.”

The verdict was issued after interrogation of the accused and the victims and preliminary hearings in the presence of legal counsel for both sides.

The Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) under Nepal Police had arrested Dalglish from Kavrepalanchowk district in April last year for alleged involvement in pedophilia.

The 61-year-old Canadian, who served as UN- Habitat country representative for Afghanistan from 2010 to 2014, was arrested from the house of Chinkaji Maharjan at Mandan Deupur Municipality in Kavrepalanchowk district.

The CIB closely monitored his activities before arresting him with two boys aged 12 and 14 from his room at Maharjan's house.

Following the arrest, the special investigation wing of the Nepal Police initiated further investigations. He was then sent into judicial custody.

Court official Trital said Dalglish is still in police custody.

In Nepal, Dalglish has been running various projects related to education and drinking water for the deprived communities in Kavrepalanchowk in the wake of the 2015 earthquakes. He is founder of the Himalayan Community Foundation, an NGO helping poor and deprived families with the education of their children.

Apart from working at UN-Habitant as country representative, Dalglish also held other top positions in the UN system. After four years at UN-Habitant, he joined the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response in Liberia in 2015. In 2016, he joined the World Health Organization (WHO) as a senior urban advisor for coordinating global efforts to stop the spread of Ebola.

He is also one of the founders of Street Kids International, a Canada-based NGO established in 1988.

 
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