Fr. Richard Daschbach

Order: SVD
Ordained: 1964
Status: Convicted

Ordained for the SVD’s Chicago Province. Pittsburgh PA native. At Catholic U. in Washington DC and hospital chaplain at Fort Belvoir VA 1964-1966. Went to Timor, Indonesia in 1966 where he spent the next five-plus decades. Accused in early 2018 of sexually abusing at least two dozen girls at Topu Honis Shelter Home, which he founded in 1993. Child pornography also involved. Admitted the allegations to police. Laicized 11/06/2018. Refused to leave the orphanage and still saying mass, per SVD Superior General in 2/19. Arrested 4/26/2019. Released on house arrest. Trial started in 3/2021, postponed to 5/2021 due to covid-19, then to 6/7/2021. Reportedly threatened the life of the human rights lawyer representing the victims in 7/2021, at the district court. Indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. 8/26/2021, charged with 7 counts of illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place. Found guilty in 12/2021 and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

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