AUSTIN, Texas
— A federal marshal says a fugitive Hindu guru convicted of molesting two girls on his Central Texas ashram is now believed to be hiding in Central or South America.
An arrest warrant was issued for Prakashanand Saraswati (prah-KAHSH’-ah-nahnd sah-rah-SWAH’-tee) after he failed to appear for his March 8 sentencing in San Marcos.
U.S. Marshal Hector Gomez told the Austin American-Statesman on Friday that the 82-year-old swami they thought was hiding in Mexico has since moved on toward Panama, Belize, Costa Rica or South America.
Gomez says although they don’t know his exact whereabouts, they’re confident the guru remains in the same hemisphere and has not been able to return to a home he has in India.
Saraswati was sentenced in absentia to 14 years in a Texas prison.
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Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com
