TEACHERS COMMITTED SEX CRIMES AGAINST STUDENTS AT ELITE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Subject:	TEACHERS COMMITTED SEX CRIMES AGAINST STUDENTS AT ELITE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Date:	Sat, 30 Jan 2010 22:47:33 GMT

Berlin Catholic school says teachers sexually abused pupils

Ethiopian Review
Friday, January 29, 2010

Police have begun an investigation into allegations that teachers at
an elite private school in Berlin sexually abused pupils during the
late 1970s and early 1980s.

Five former students, all male, at the Jesuit Canisius College had
notified the institution’s director, Klaus Mertes, of the abuse over
the past two months, he said.

The two men, both Jesuit priests who no longer work at the school,
had been identified by name by their accusers, who would have been
aged 13-17 at the time, Mertes said.

The accusations prompted him to send an open letter to 500 alumni,
encouraging them to write in about their own experiences at the time.
Replies from ex-students continued to arrive, he said, with the
number of people claiming to have been abused reaching 20 by Friday.

Coming to terms

It was unsurprising that the revelations came so late, Mertes said.

"Everyone who has dealt with sexual abuse cases knows very well that
there’s a lot of shame and pain involved on the part of the victims,"
Mertes told reporters. "And it often takes many decades until those
affected are able to get their trauma under control and are willing
to speak about it openly."

He said that the scandal could not have remained undetected at the
time, had a number of people in responsible positions not looked the
other way.

Most of the cases would likely be difficult to prosecute because
German law limits the statute of limitations on sexual abuse to 10
years after the victim has turned 18, Mertes said.
(Source: hg /dpa/AFP/KNA)

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Om Shanti

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