CHILE
I Love Chile
The 4th Court of Santiago will hear from John O’Reilly, the former priest who is accused of committing sexual abuse against two underage students at Colegio Cumbres, where he performed functions as member of the Legionaries of Christ congregation for over a decade.
Charges were reported in August of last year, but formalized in 2014: O’Reilly has pleaded not guilty to the accused charges between 2007 and 2012. He has been suspended for the last 14 months.
An influential Irish priest amongst Santiago’s elite community in Las Condes, the 66-year-old was also the face, and principal collector, of the Legionaries of Christ in Chile.
In a 2012 interview with the Clinic, O’Reilly describes his persecution and subsequent future as a “dead man walking.”
The trial is expected to run for at least two months, with approximately 92 witnesses declaring statements.
In addition, the Court has resolved the request to take statements in the separate room of the Second Gesell Oral Criminal Court, per the public prosecutor and two complainants’ requests, which would allow testimony to take place without exposing the accused to the alleged victims.
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