Ex-Krishna Man Found Guilty of Child Molestation

A former Hare Krishna member was found guilty Friday of sexually molesting children in a child-care center run by the sect in West Los Angeles, but the same jury acquitted his wife of child endangerment charges.

Kenneth Capoferri, 38, a former caretaker of the center, was convicted on seven counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with children under the age of 14 and acquitted on one count, and the jury could not reach a verdict on another. However, the jury found the prosecution lacked evidence to show that his wife, Delia Capoferri, 39, a former teacher at the center, knew about the sexual abuse. She broke into tears after the verdicts were read.

Sentencing April 25

Judge Ronald S. W. Lew set an April 25 sentencing date for Kenneth Capoferri, who could face a maximum of about 50 years in prison.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven Morgan told jurors that Capoferri’s motivation in molesting the children was sexual frustration. Morgan said that, because Hare Krishna adherents are expected to curtail sexual activity to once a month, Capoferri was sexually unsatisfied in his marriage and therefore turned to molesting the youngsters.

Capoferri and his wife had fled to Ohio after other members of the Hare Krishna religious group confronted them with allegations that they sexually abused four children at the Hare Krishna center on Watseka Avenue. The abuse came to light in August, 1984, when one of the 18 children at the center told her mother about molestations, and the Capoferris were arrested in Columbus, Ohio, in September, 1984.

Incidents Date to 1982

According to Los Angeles police reports, the first incidents of abuse date to November, 1982, soon after the couple took over the center’s operation.

Lew had dismissed two counts of child endangering against Delia Capoferri after the prosecution rested its case. Jury foreman X X Newhall, said the two-month trial was “emotionally wrenching.” He said jury members had been concerned because the child witnesses may have had difficulty understanding the many “adult-sounding” words used by the attorneys.

Capoferri has been in custody in lieu of $200,000 bail since his arrest in late 1984. Delia Capoferri was ordered released by Lew after her acquittal.