DOMINICA
Associated Press
By CARLISLE JNO BAPTISE
— Jun. 9
ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — Dozens of parishioners gathered outside a Roman Catholic church Sunday to support a parish priest who has been accused of molesting a girl nearly two decades ago.
Catholics in Dominica’s Grand Bay held cardboard placards saying “Our parish priest has to stay” and chanting their support for Monsignor Reginald Lafleur, who they referred to as “Father Reggie.”
The 59-year-old priest was put on administrative leave after a woman alleged that he touched her inappropriately on her “bottom and breast” and made “sweet eyes” at her 19 years ago when she was a 12-year-old parishioner. The woman made the accusations against Lafleur in a series of letters to Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, the head of Dominica’s diocese.
Malzaire has sent the accuser to the Caribbean country of Trinidad & Tobago for counseling as a local church panel investigates her allegations. He has not stated publicly why he decided to send her for counseling in Trinidad.
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