OECUSSE – A defrocked American priest faced a criminal trial Monday on allegations he sexually abused young girls at a children’s shelter he ran in a remote enclave in East Timor — one of the most Catholic places on Earth.
Richard Daschbach, 84, a former missionary from Pennsylvania, is charged with 14 counts of sexual abuse of children under the age of 14, as well as counts of child pornography and domestic violence, according to the country’s Prosecutor General.
The case against Daschbach represents East Timor’s first child sex case filed against a priest, but it has been complicated by his hero status and loyal devotion from followers.