MANILA (PHILIPPINES)
New York Times
December 6, 2018
By Jason Gutierrez
An elderly American priest has been arrested by United States Homeland Security agents on charges that he sexually assaulted at least seven Filipino altar boys in the rural central Philippines, where he has ministered for decades.
The suspect, Rev. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, 77, was arrested Wednesday in the town of Naval, an impoverished community in Biliran Province, said Dana Krizia Sandoval, a spokeswoman for the immigration bureau of the Philippines.
“We received information from U.S. authorities regarding the alleged sexual exploitation of multiple minor Filipino boys by Hendricks,” Ms. Sandoval said. “Several of his victims have come forward with their statements.”
Ms. Sandoval said “at least seven children have come forward, but our sources estimate at least 50 cases have been unreported.”
Operatives from the immigration bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit joined with the national police and Homeland Security agents in making the arrest, which shocked residents in the community of 50,000.
“Hendricks allegedly sexually assaulted a number of boys living in his residence,” Ms. Sandoval said, adding that the priest allegedly told the boys that he would be imprisoned if the authorities learned of his behavior.
“It is shocking and appalling,” she added. “I am horrified reading the charges against him. We will not allow sexual predators to prey on our children.”
The priest allegedly ordered the boys to take baths with him and molested them either one on one or with other boys, she said.
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