The Roman Catholic Church has lifted the suspension of a priest convicted in 2015 of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Minnesota more than a decade ago. Reverend Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul returned to India five months ago, after which the process to lift his suspension started. He was sentenced to one year in prison but was freed on account of time served while awaiting trial.

The 61-year-old was accused of sexually abusing two teenage girls after he was sent to serve in Minnesota in the United States in 2005. He served at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenbush, near the Canadian border. Jeyapaul was suspended in 2010 after being charged with sexual assault. He pled guilty to assaulting one minor, while the charges of abusing the second one were dropped as part of a plea deal.

Spokesman for the diocese Reverend Sebastian Selvanathan said Jeyapaul's suspension was lifted by the Ootacamund Diocese in Tamil Nadu after receiving approval from the Vatican.