US priest Richard Daschbach, 82, who built children’s shelters in East Timor admits he sexually abused minors
- American missionary Richard Daschbach was expelled from the Catholic Church after his confession, said the bishop of Dili
- He briefly left the area of Oe-Kusi Ambeno, where he committed the crimes, but has returned to perform Masses despite being stripped of his priestly duties
A US missionary who was a hero in East Timor for founding children’s shelters that have operated for more than two decades has been expelled from his Catholic congregation after admitting to sexual abuse of minors, a church official and a family member said.
Richard Daschbach was expelled from the church last year and was no longer a priest, the bishop of Dili, Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, said on Sunday.
Daschbach was born in Pennsylvania and first came to East Timor in 1966 when it was a Portuguese colony. In 1992, he founded the Topu Honis or “Guide To Life” children’s homes in Oe-Kusi Ambeno, an East Timorese enclave in the Indonesian-controlled western half of Timor.
The shelters cared for orphans and children and youth aged three to 18 from impoverished families, disabled people and women who have fled domestic violence. Some of the hundreds of children who lived in the shelters went on to study at universities in Australia, the US and Indonesia.
Daschbach was also feted for saving children during East Timor’s war for independence from Indonesia.
The allegations of Daschbach’s abuse of young girls have stunned people in East Timor.
