Irish-Born Priest Released Amid Sexual Abuse Charges in Chile

New Tang Dynasty
August 28, 2013

http://www.ntd.tv/en/news/world/south-america/20130828/82469-irishborn-priest-released-amid-sexual-abuse-charges-in-chile.html

[with video]

Chilean judge refuses to hold Irish-born priest John O'Reilly amid charges of sexual abuse, citing insufficient evidence.

An Irish-born priest was released by a judge in Chile on Tuesday after a hearing into alleged sexual abuse charges.

Prosecutors allege that John Joseph O'Reilly, 66, abused two children at Colegio Cumbres, a school in Santiago where he worked as the spiritual advisor.

An investigation into abuse allegations began last July, and the priest and his defence team have maintained his innocence.

After a nearly eight-hour hearing in a Santiago court room, Judge Andrea Diaz-Munoz refused to imprison the priest while the investigation continues, citing insufficient evidence.

O'Reilly is a member of the Legionaries of Christ, a once influential religious order that has been at the centre of several sexual abuse controversies in recent years.

Prosecuting attorneys presented a report from the Centre of Assistance to Victims of Sexual Assault of the Chilean Investigations Police, which documents the testimony of the alleged abuse victims.

Prosecutor Matias Moya says attorneys will most likely appeal the judge's decision to reject keeping the priest in prison as a precautionary measure.

The judge set a time frame of 120 days to continue investigating the allegations.