Defrocked priest accused of abuse

At least 15 girls speaking out about incidents

It was the same every night. A list of names was posted on the Rev. Richard Daschbach’s bedroom door. The child at the top of the roster knew it was her turn to share the lower bunk with the elderly priest and another elementary school-aged girl.

Daschbach was idolized in East Timor, largely for his role in helping save lives during the nation’s bloody struggle for independence. So, the girls never spoke about the abuse they suffered. They said they were afraid they would be banished from the shelter the 84-year-old from Pennsylvania established decades ago for abused women, orphans, and other destitute children.

The horrors of what they said happened over a period of years is now being played out in court -- the first clergy sex case in a country that is more solidly Catholic than any other place aside from the Vatican.

At least 15 females have come forward, according to a group of human rights lawyers. The Associated Press has spoken to a third of the accusers, each recalling their experiences in vivid detail. They told AP Daschbach would sit on a chair every night in the middle of a room holding a little girl, surrounded by a ring of children and staff members praying and singing hymns before bed.

Later, they said Daschbach would strip down to white boxer shorts and a T-shirt and then undress the girls. Then, they said, there would often be oral sex. One accuser also alleged she was raped.

Daschbach and his lawyer declined to be interviewed.

The church defrocked Daschbach in 2018, saying he had confessed to sexually abusing children.