A Buddhist nun has filed a lawsuit in Orange County claiming the leader of a Westminster Buddhist temple sexually assaulted her multiple times while she lived and worked there.
In the suit, the woman says she was brought from Vietnam in January 2024 with promises of a religious worker visa, a path to U.S. citizenship and help securing a green card for her nephew.
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While at Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster, she alleges, the abbot, Venerable Xuan Ngoc Ho, also known as Thich Vien Huy, sexually assaulted and raped her three times, most recently in March 2024, sometimes entering the female dormitory while intoxicated despite security measures meant to bar men from the area.
She also claims in the suit that she was paid only $300 to $400 a month to work up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week in mostly secular roles such as managing offices, selling food, cooking, cleaning and gardening — without legally required breaks or proper wage records — and was forced to live in a cramped, windowless room without a bathroom, running water, heat or air conditioning.
The lawsuit says after she told the abbot she intended to report him, she was expelled from the Westminster temple and sent to Dieu Phap Buddhist Temple in San Gabriel, where his brother, Venerable Tang Ho, also known as Thich Vien Ly, is abbot.
There, she alleges in the suit, she was falsely told her visa had been denied and that she had to leave the United States — a claim she later learned was untrue. She says she was eventually expelled from both temples, her immigration documents were withheld and she and her family were intimidated to stop her from going to authorities.
Neither of the abbots or anyone from their temples could be reached for comment on Tuesday.
The lawsuit also names the International Buddhist Cultural Heritage Foundation, which the suit says oversees the temples. The suit lists an additional 125 unnamed defendants alleged to have participated in or enabled the conduct.
No one from the foundation could be reached on Tuesday.
The 20-count suit, initially filed in June and amended on August 12, alleges sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, human trafficking, harassment, retaliation under state labor and civil rights laws, wrongful termination, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, multiple wage-and-hour violations, and unfair business practices.
The woman, who is identified in the suit under an alias, is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as unpaid wages and statutory penalties.
