The National Director for the Office for Professional Standards for the Catholic Church in New Zealand, Bill Kilgallon, has made known the number of sexual abuse claims that have been made in the four years 2010 – 2014.
There have been 58 child-sex abuse complaints accepted.
26 have been proven and 24 are still under investigation.
The incidents of sexual abuse reported occurred between 1946 and 1990.
The proven complaints implicated 21 priests, brothers, sisters and teachers.
Of those accused, eight are still alive; four of these have never been charged.
Kilgallon said all four had retired from the church.
He said all of the alleged perpetrators were elderly and in care and do not pose a threat to the public.
Their victims had chosen not to go to police.
He said victims were often reluctant to go to the police.
“This could be because they don’t feel strong enough to go through the whole process of a trial and are fearful of any publicity that might bring.”
“Occasionally we’ve had people who have had a not very good experience with the police.”
The figures record only those complaints made after 2010, the year the church started keeping a central record.
Source
- stuff.co.nz
- radionz.org.nz
- Image: i.ytimg.com
