A senior lawyer from the Chilaw area has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for allegedly sending sexually harassing messages to a female High Court judge through Facebook Messenger.
The 62-year-old suspect was taken into custody on 21 May following a formal complaint made by the judge and upon instructions from the Attorney General. According to police, the messages had caused significant discomfort to the judge, prompting a detailed investigation.
“A number of inappropriate messages were sent via social media by the lawyer to the High Court judge. Following the complaint, we recorded his statement and submitted the case file to the Attorney General. The AG advised us to take action under Section 345 of the Penal Code relating to sexual harassment, leading to the arrest,” a police spokesperson said.
The suspect was produced before Chilaw Chief Magistrate S. Mahendraraja the same night and was released on Rs. 500,000 bail.
President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsecularatne, along with several lawyers from the Marawila and Chilaw Bar Associations, appeared for the suspect in court.
The case has been fixed for further hearing on 24 September.
