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However, while Daschbach may well die in jail given his age, the victims lawyers protested that the sentence failed “to reflect the gravity of the case and the actual practice of courts”.
“In fact, considering the gravity of the crimes, the accused should have been given the maximum sentence as provided in Timor-Leste – 30 years in prison,” they said.
“The victims disagree with the punishment given by the court and we will make an appeal.“
The trial had been an enormously polarising issue in a country that is almost entirely Catholic.
Richard Daschbach may spend the rest of his life behind bars.Credit:AP
While the disgraced ex-priest admitted his guilt – including in a letter revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in June – he retained support, most controversially from former president and independence hero Xanana Gusmao.
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Even on Tuesday, when Daschbach faced the verdict of a trial that had been delayed on several occasions, he had supporters at the court. In video footage posted by Portuguese news agency Lusa, he waved at supporters as they tried to enter the building to embrace him, only to be blocked by police.
Daschbach, who was admired for his role in the country’s independence movement, was removed by the Vatican when the allegations against him surfaced.
Victims told police he would tape a list of their names to the door of his room at the orphanage, outlining which one of them he would abuse each night after evening prayer.
“The prison sentence handed down by the court will not remove the suffering and the scar left on the victims. The guilty verdict and its sentence will not restore the happy youth days the girls have lost,” the victims lawyers said.
The bathing area at Topu Honis, where Daschbach would wash girls while nude. Credit:AP
“However, the sentence by the court today will pave the way for the victims and their families to restore their dignities and rebuild their lives, knowing that the wrong against them has been recognised by the Timorese courts.“
Daschbach was in August also charged by US authorities with seven counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place following an investigation by the FBI.
‘Horrendous crimes’: East Timor priest jailed for 12 years for child sex abuse
Source: Philippines Alive
