Kollam (Kerala) | A Christian priest was arrested on Friday for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman multiple times in Chavara here, police said.

The arrested person has been identified as Fr Dennis Praveen.

According to police, the alleged incidents took place between 2022 and 2024 after the priest befriended the woman while she was attending retreats at a Christian worship centre in Chavara, where he was serving.

Police alleged that the priest sexually assaulted the woman at various places in Kollam during this period.

Even after he was transferred to a retreat centre in Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district, he allegedly continued to sexually assault the complainant, police said.

Following a complaint lodged by the woman at the Chavara police station recently, the accused allegedly went into hiding.

He was arrested from a hideout in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

The accused was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody, police added.