Chilean school priest suspended amid sex abuse claim

CHILE
Santiago Times

Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Written by Tom Murphy

Latest allegation comes after recent series of high-profile abuse scandals.

A Catholic school in Santiago suspended a priest from its faculty Tuesday after claims he sexually abused a student surfaced. Father John O’Reilly, who worked at the Colegio Cumbres in the east of the capital, expressed his total innocence and willingness to fully cooperate with the investigation.

The Catholic Church in Chile has been rocked by a number of allegations of sexual abuse. Photo by Kurotashio/Wikimedia Commons.

“I’ve always had the utmost respect for students and their families, and I am convinced that after the investigation it will be made clear that this is an unfortunate mistake and that my actions have been correct,” O’Reilly said in a statement released Wednesday.

The allegation against O’Reilly comes after a series of high-profile scandals and reports of sexual abuse against minors in the country. Chilean authorities are now investigating 61 schools in the capital amid increasing reports of sex abuse in 2012.

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