Convicted paedophile and ex-priest listed for pardon ahead of Timor-Leste Independence Day

DILI (TIMOR-LESTE)
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC [Sydney, Australia]

May 18, 2026

By Vonia Vieira

[Click here to listen.]

For the second time in a year, survivors of sexual abuse in Timor-Leste are fighting a government proposal to pardon a convicted paedophile and ex-priest.

Last year President Jose Ramos Horta rejected a proposal to pardon former Catholic priest Richard Daschbach, who’s currently in prison for the sexual abuse of girls under his care at a remote orphanage.

But the Justice Minister has revealed Daschbach is among the dozens of names submitted to the president for a pardon on Independence Day later this month.

By Vonia Vieira, Reporter