Radio Netherlands
January 18, 2011
http://www.rnw.nl/africa/bulletin/church-sex-abuse-case-middelburg-court
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Two senior clergymen will appear before the Middelburg court on Tuesday as witnesses in a case filed by a 34-year-old man who says he was abused by a Salesian priest.
Earlier, the victim testified in court that he had been drugged and raped by the priest twice in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The court appearances of Bishop Hans van den Hende of the diocese of Breda and Prior Herman Spronck, the two witnesses, are intended to determine whether the diocese of Breda, as the priest's employer, can be held responsible for the abuse, and whether the diocese was negligent in taking measures to prevent the abuse.
The priest, who was convicted in 1990, was called as a witness in December but failed to appear in court. Cardinal Ad Simonis is to testify next week.
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