DILI, East Timor — A defrocked American priest accused of molesting girls for years at an East Timor shelter has gone on trial in a case that split the overwhelmingly Catholic country.
Richard Daschbach, 84, faces sexual abuse, child pornography and domestic violence charges and could be jailed for up to 20 years if convicted of crimes linked to an orphanage he founded in the early 1990s.
The case has sharply divided the Southeast Asian nation, where Daschbach was once revered for providing food, clothing and housing for hundreds of orphans and impoverished children.
The hearing, which started Wednesday and is expected to last until Friday, was closed to media.Das…
Keep on reading: American ex-priest faces East Timor child sex-abuse trial