___ United Press International Charleston, W.Va. Nov. 11, 1988 11-11-88 03:28 pes Krishna

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United Press International
Charleston, W.Va.
Nov. 11, 1988
   
 
11-11-88 03:28 pes
 
 Krishna headmaster indicted on sexual assault charges
   MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (UPI) _ A former Krishna headmaster, accused of
sexually assaulting a young student four times, has been bailed out of
jail by the New Vrindaban community, the Marshall County sheriff said
Friday.
   Sheriff Donald Bordenkircher said Gary Gardner, who also goes by
the name Sri Galim, turned himself over to sheriff's deputies Thursday
after being under indictment for more than 19 months.
   A Marshall County grand jury charged Gardner with four counts of
sexual assault in March 1987, but the headmaster for New Vrindaban's
school has been in India since then, Bordenkircher said.
   "We had been informed through his counsel he would be surrendering
himself to authorities and he did yesterday," Bordenkircher said.
   The indictment charges Gardner with sexually assaulting a boy
between the ages of 7 and 12 four times between 1981 and 1986. The boy,
said Bordenkircher, was a student at the school and has since left the
Krishna community near Moundsville. The sheriff said he did not want to
release any other information about the boy.
   Marshall County Circuit Judge Richard Warmuth set bond at $50,000
after Gardner turned himself in.
   "New Vrindaban Inc. immediately bonded him out of jail, using a
cash bond as well as Krishna-owned property as security," Bordenkircher
explained.
   Gardner is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges Nov. 23, the
sheriff said.
   The indictment against Gardner was handed up at the same time that
charges of sexual assault allegedly involving the same boy were filed
against Frederick DiFransisco, a teacher at the Krishna school and night
moderator of the boys' dormatory.
   DiFransisco pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault in June
1987 and, as a youthful offender, was sentenced to six months in a
detention center and two years' probation.
   Bordenkircher said DiFransisco has served his time and has returned
to New Vrindaban.