A defrocked American priest accused of sexually abusing orphaned and disadvantaged young girls under his care in East Timor was found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison. It is the first case of its kind in the staunchly Catholic nation.
Richard Daschbach, 84, who spent decades as a missionary in the country’s remote enclave of Oecusse, faced charges of child sexual abuse as well as child pornography and domestic violence.
Daschbach, the son of a Pittsburgh steelworker, was ordained in 1964 by the Society of the Divine Word at its headquarters outside of Chicago. He arrived in the country now known as East Timor several years later, setting up a shelter in the 1990s named Topu Honis, which means “Guide to Life.” They said the girl on his lap would then sleep with him that night and that various types of abuse – from oral sex to rape – would occur, sometimes involving other children too. The accusers have not been identified because of fears of retribution.
In a statement Tuesday, JU,S Jurídico Social, a group of human rights lawyers representing the accusers, applauded the verdict but said it would appeal, arguing that the sentence should be harsher. Under the law, Daschbach faced more than twice the prison time he received.
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