CHILE
Press TV (Iran)
A Chilean priest has been permanently removed from public ministry over allegations of sexual abuse of two minors.
The country’s Roman Catholic Church announced on Tuesday that Priest Hector Valdes has been defrocked.
Valdes “is hereby removed for life from exercising priestly ministry and the religious life,” said the church.
In an investigation conducted last year, Valdes was found “guilty of the crime of sexually abusing two minors, and abuse of his ministry.”
According to the initial probe in 2008, the church ruled there was not enough evidence to investigate the accusations of having sexually abused a 17-year-old.
Valdes is one of about 20 priests, who have been accused of sexually abusing minors in the predominantly Roman Catholic country, Chile.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.