Danish Priest Charged with Sexually Abusing Children

The Local
September 1, 2016

http://www.thelocal.dk/20160901/danish-priest-charged-with-sexually-abusing-children

The man has been in police custody since late June but details of the case were first made public on Thursday after the Holb?k City Court lifted reporting restrictions on the case.

Mid- and West Zealand Police then released the name of the church in the hopes that additional potential victims will come forward.

“We have gotten far in our investigation […] but we suspect that there are more children whom we haven’t yet spoken with there may have been subjected to abuse in connection with their contact with the priest at Tommerup Church,” Commissioner Ove Pedersen said.

“We therefore encourage parents to talk with their children and if there is a suspicion that abuse has occurred, we would very much like to be in contact with those affected,” he said.

Pedersen did not say how many potential victims there might be but told news agency Ritzau that police believe the priest abused “several children”.

According to TV2 Ost, the 46-year-old priest has admitted to having a sexual relationship with one minor but has denied any additional instances of abuse.

Local news source Nordvestnyt reported that at least one of the charges the priest faces has to do with a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old boy. The man allegedly abused the boy for more than a year.