Apuron: 'I deny all allegations of sexual abuse'

By Kyle Daly
Pacific Daily News
May 17, 2016

http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2016/05/17/apuron-deny-all-allegations-sexual-abuse/84479808/

Archbishop Anthony Apuron

Archbishop Anthony Apuron released a recorded video Tuesday evening in which he denied allegations that he sexually abused an altar boy about 40 years ago.

On Tuesday morning, Roy Taitague Quintanilla, 52, of Hawaii, gave a detailed account to the media, alleging that he was sexually abused by the archbishop when he was an altar boy and the archbishop was a priest.

Apuron hasn't been charged with a crime and no lawsuit has been filed against the archbishop.

“To be absolutely clear and to avoid any misinterpretations of my statement, I deny all allegations of sexual abuse by Roy Quintanilla,” Apuron said in the video.

In his video statement, the archbishop referred to what he called “malicious ads” that were placed in local newspapers, including the Pacific Daily News, in recent days. The Concerned Catholics of Guam, a group that has been critical of the archbishop, paid for the ads, which called for victims of sexual abuse to come forward.

In a previous news release, the archdiocese stated the advertisements insinuated criminal sexual abuse by Apuron.

“As predicted just four days ago, these malicious ads have resulted in a false accusation of sexual abuse,” Apuron said in the video.

The archbishop also asked for the faithful to pray for him and for those “behind this concerted effort to injure our Catholic Church.”

“I will continue to defend the faith and give my life for the truth,” he said.