GUAM
Pacific Daily News
June 2, 2018
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Board certified clinical social worker Vincent P. Pereda, who performed clinical evaluations on sex offenders for years, on Thursday says the Vatican verdict on former Archbishop Anthony Apuron was undeniably mostly related to child sex abuse cases because of the credibility of the accusers or victi Pacific Daily News
A Vatican tribunal’s guilty verdict on former Guam Archbishop Anthony S. Apuron can be reasonably linked to the credibility of those who accused him of child sexual abuse, according to a board-certified clinical social worker.
Vincent P. Pereda, who’s also a licensed mental health counselor with specialty in evaluating and counseling sex offenders, believes the victims’ disclosures were “very strong and they were credible.”
“In my experience, the vast majority of victims who disclose being victims of child sexual abuse tell the truth, and they very rarely lie,” Pereda said. “This is not to say that victims never lie, but if you take a look at the statistics, the vast majority of victims are truthful and I believe the four that initially came forward presented very credible stories of how they were victimized.”
A fifth accuser, Apuron’s nephew, filed a lawsuit in January this year, two months before the Vatican handed a decision on the canonical trial. Apuron has denied all allegations of child sexual abuse against him.
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