Woman in sex video with Lowell monk sues [-Sex scandal in Lowell pagoda]

04/23/2013
By Lyle Moran, lmoran@lowellsun.com
Lowell Sun (Massachusetts, USA)

LOWELL -- The woman shown having sex with a Buddhist monk in a video recently circulated in the Cambodian community has filed a civil lawsuit against five individuals she alleges illegally distributed the tape.

Taping of the voice and actions of a private person without permission in Massachusetts and distributing them is illegal, which Maya Men highlights in her suit.

Among those Men has sued following the release of the tape of her sexually engaging with the Venerable Nhem Kimteng are another local monk and a former member of the executive committee for the $10 million Lowell temple project Men is helping lead.

Kimteng and Men were filmed in the Trairatanaram Temple in North Chelmsford.

Meanwhile, leaders of the local Cambodian community angered by the video's contents had another meeting to discuss their concerns on Sunday and are renewing calls for the leader of the Lowell temple project to dismiss Men, who is executive committee member in charge of fundraising for the temple project.

Some also are still seeking an audit of the money raised and spent by the Community of Khmer Buddhist Monks for their temple project in the city's Pawtucketville neighborhood.

The CKBM had largely been silent about the demands of community members, but pledged this past weekend to investigate both the allegations of sexual misconduct by members of the leadership team, as well as find improved ways to share financial information.

Men's lawsuit, which was filed in Middlesex Superior Court last week, alleges that the five defendants have violated her right to privacy and her constitutional rights, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon her with their actions.

Those named in the suit are Cheng Leang, a monk and CKBM Inc. board member according to the temple project's website, as well as Sam Meas, a CKBM executive committee member who was dismissed last August after requesting an audit of the temple project's finances.

Men also is suing Sovann Khon, Lee Veng Chou and Denys Meung, who told The Sun earlier this year he stopped assisting the temple project last August because the CKBM was not utilizing the monthly budget and spending tools he helped set up for them.

Men, in the suit filed by Lowell attorney James Boumil, says she has never given consent for her private sexual acts to be publicly disclosed. In addition to citing the tape as evidence of her claims, Men cites a recent email distributed about her.

The email says that the sex video was secretly recorded and done so by the Venerable Leang. The unsigned email also accuses Men of "using her sex life to take control of all top-level monks."

As a result of the defendants' alleged actions, Men "has suffered previously in body and mind, and has been held up to her relevant community as an individual who should be shunned and scorned, called a thief, and referred to by a plethora of pejorative terms," according to the complaint.

Men is requesting the court grant her reasonable and punitive damages, and money for an investigation to locate and confiscate all of the copies of the tape that have been made.

She is also seeking a temporary restraining order against the defendants and a preliminary injunction barring further distribution or display of the material on the tape.

The temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction requests will be heard today at 2 p.m. at Lowell Superior Court.

Meas told The Sun he categorically denies all the allegations in the lawsuit.

"It is just part of a smear campaign by Maya Men and CKBM to smear my reputation and the reputation of others," said Meas. "They also want to do anything to take attention away from the growing number of people calling for an audit of CKBM's finances."

Khon, Meung, Leang and Chou could not be reached for comment.

Hundreds of members of the local Cambodian community gathered at Sunny Da Restaurant on Chelmsford Street Sunday to discuss their dismay that the head monk of the CKBM, Venerable Sao Khon, has dismissed Kimteng from the temple project, but not Men.

Lowell City Councilor Vesna Nuon was among the meeting attendees. Nuon has urged Khon to dismiss Men and may meet with him again to reiterate his concerns.

"The community is being destroyed by the two individuals in the tape," Nuon told The Sun. "The fact that the lady is still there is angering the community and there is agreement on what the head monk should do."

Nuon also said he supports calls for the CKBM to tell the community how much money has come in for the temple project and how it has been spent.

Many of those gathered Sunday signed a petition asking Khon to meet with them to discuss why he has not taken action against Men and the lack of financial transparency by the organization. Others signed a petition seeking refunds from CKBM for the $100 Buddha statues they signed up to purchase and discussed totally boycotting the project.

The CKBM's head monk or other monks could not come to Sunday's meeting.

In the statement released late Friday evening to The Sun, the CKBM says it has begun an internal investigation into the allegations of sexual misconduct, and Boumil told The Sun he is leading the probe.

The CKBM, which has raised at least $500,000 for its temple project, also said it is taking steps to address the allegations of inappropriate financial management.

The organization is working to amend its bylaws so a professional accountant can review what the organization can do to ensure the proper use of donated funds. It also has mailed letters acknowledging donations to donors and registered members.

Follow Moran on Twitter @lylemoran.