OECUSSE, East Timor (AP) — A defrocked American priest is on trial on charges he sexually abused young girls at his shelter for orphans and children from impoverished families. It is the first clergy sex case to emerge in East Timor — the most Catholic place in the world outside the Vatican. Richard Daschbach, a former missionary from Pennsylvania, is facing 14 counts of sexual abuse of children, as well as one count each of child pornography and domestic violence, according to the country’s Prosecutor General. Police presence was heavy at the small courthouse near the beach, as some 100 supporters of the former priest showed up but were denied entry to the courtroom for the closed proceedings.
