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	Lawyer: 12 Suspects in German Jesuit School Child Sex Abuse Claims Earth Times February 18, 2010 http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/309995,lawyer-12-suspects-in-german-jesuit-school-child-sex-abuse-claims.html Berlin -- Former school pupils have accused 12 staff at Jesuit schools in Germany of different forms of sexual abuse, a lawyer hired by the Catholic order of priests said in Berlin Thursday. Charges cannot be laid, because all the cases happened so long ago. The scandal came to light last month when a former Jesuit priest now living in Chile wrote a letter of apology to former pupils. Complainants have described in the media how one teacher often spanked boys on the bare buttocks. Lawyer Ursula Raue said other complainants described how the men put their hands on boys' private parts, molested them with hugs and kisses or dispensed sadistic beatings. Former schoolgirls also said they had been molested. She said most of the accused had been Jesuit priests at four schools, but other staff and two women were among the 12 accused. All of the alleged abuse happened before the mid-1980s. Raue said that after she announced a clearing-house for complaints, she received some similar allegations about other Catholic colleges not run by the Jesuit order and one about a Lutheran school. "Some misdeeds and hurts never heal. These are that kind of hurt," she said, adding that she been told that people had committed suicide after suffering such abuse. Some victims said they still had bad dreams. She said a team of investigators would now be formed to interview all 115 to 120 complainants. Some 80 per cent said they were not seeking any financial damages, but wanted the abuse exposed. Raue said she had seen the personnel files on the staff and had been shocked that although school principals evidently knew of the allegations, nothing was done to counsel or help the victims.
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