Charity watchdogs probed 15 sex cases
SCOTLAND’S charity regulators have dealt with 15 cases of alleged sexual misconduct within the sector in the past two years, statistics reveal.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) said the cases – known as “notifiable events” – were “mostly historical” and none has resulted in a formal inquiry.
The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf) are the only Scots charity working internationally to have reported allegations, the watchdogs said.
OSCR said six of the notifiable events concerned charities involved in the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and are being dealt with as part of that process. The police were contacted in all of the remaining nine cases – including two involving Sciaf. Four have been concluded.
Sciaf confirmed this week they have dealt with two cases of alleged sexual misconduct involving kids.
One involved the alleged rape in 2012 of a 15-year-old girl by a Burundian man, 45, who volunteered for a local partner organisation. The other centred on an Ethiopian man who worked in the shared office of Sciaf and their sister UK and Irish aid charities Cafod and Trocaire. In 2016, he was accused of sexual misconduct with a boy aged under 16.
OSCR chief David Robb said: “We will continue to urge charity trustees to be vigilant and to take robust action when necessary.”