Chicago, April 30: A 57-year-old Indian man has been charged with sexually abusing a young woman, who was friends with one of his children and considered him “a father figure”.

Rajender Kumar Patel of Melrose Park near here has been arrested and charged with one count of criminal sexual abuse for molesting the 20-year-old woman, also an Indian, on Valentine’s day in 2010. Patel has admitted to the molestation and provided a six-page detailed account of what he did to the victim. His bond was set at $25,000 on Friday.
According to Cook county sheriff Tom Dart, Patel called the woman to his house on February 14 and told her that he had prepared a Valentine’s Day dinner for her. He gave her flowers and balloons which the woman took to believe stemmed from their bond that “she saw as parental”. Patel offered the woman a bed to sleep in at his home as she felt tired from working all day, the woman told the police. But she later woke up to find Patel molesting her under her clothing and fled the house.
The woman did not contact the police until March 30, as she was “torn about notifying authorities because of the cultural implications tied to someone touching her in a sexual way,” the police said.
She was also hesitant because of the “paternal relationship” Patel had with her.     —PTI