American missionary Richard Daschbach, who founded children’s shelters that have operated for more than two decades in Timor-Leste, has been expelled from his Catholic congregation after admitting to sexual abuse of minors.
Media reports about the allegations have shocked the country, one of two predominantly Catholic nations in Asia along with the Philippines.
Daschbach had been working in Timor-Leste since 1966 and admitted that the allegations against him are true. Priests asked him to leave Timor-Leste but has since returned against their will. There is currently no criminal case registered against him.