The police have handed to the prosecution a South Korean pastor accused of sexually assaulting young North Korean defectors.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said on Tuesday the pastor was handed over the day before on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse.

Police have so far identified a total of nine victims, with the latest complaint by a victim filed after last Monday’s detention of the pastor known for rescuing more than a thousand defectors over two decades, which led to some calling him the "Asian Schindler."

However, last month, eight North Koreans who had studied at a boarding school that the pastor founded for defectors filed a complaint with the police against him, saying they were sexually molested by the pastor for years.

The pastor has denied such charges.