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	Brazilian Priest on Pedophilia Charge News.com.au April 28, 2010 http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/brazilian-priest-on-pedophilia-charge/story-e6frfku0-1225859708133 BRAZILIAN authorities overnight charged a 74-year-old Catholic priest with pedophilia after eight children in his church choir accused him of sexual abuse. Father Jose Afonso De is being prosecuted for allegedly assaulting children aged 12 to 16, Sao Paulo state's public prosecutor's office said. He has denied the allegations but has been suspended by his diocese. The indictment adds another smear to the Catholic Church's reputation worldwide as it struggles with a series of pedophile accusations against its priests in the Americas and Europe. The lead prosecutor in the Brazilian case, Jose Lourenco Alves, said the priest's role as mentor and authority over the children could increase the gravity of the charges. The police chief who conducted the investigation sparked by an anonymous tip-off made a month ago, Graciela de Lourdes Ambrosio, has said she had no doubt that the minors "were sexually molested" by Father De. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. The choir children said the priest invited them into his home on the pretext of Bible studies and to drink tea, but once inside he forced them to kiss him on the mouth and touch his genitals.
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