Philippine immigration authorities say they have arrested an American Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting altar boys in a remote central town in a case one official described as “shocking and appalling.”
Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval said on Thursday, December 6, that the Rev. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, who has been indicted in Ohio for alleged illicit sexual conduct in the Philippines, was arrested in a church in Naval town on the island province of Biliran.
An Ohio court had issued a warrant for the arrest of 77-year-old Hendricks, who has been living in the Philippines for 37 years, Ms. Sandoval said, adding that the U.S. criminal case stemmed from complaints from Filipino minors who were allegedly victimised in the Philippines.
There was no immediate reaction from the U.S. Embassy, Philippine Catholic church officials or Hendricks, who was flown to Manila and detained in an immigration cell.
The suspect allegedly abused seven victims, who served mostly as altar boys in Naval, in 50 counts of molestation in his residence in a case that’s “both shocking and appalling,” Ms. Sandoval said.
“The victims were in his house and the abuses were committed while he was taking a bath with each of them,” Ms. Sandoval said by telephone. U.S. authorities provided information about the alleged sexual assaults to the Philippine government, she said., adding that the victims were reportedly warned they would be locked up in jail if they told anyone about the abuses. However, “several of his victims have come forward with their statements”.
The U.S. Embassy may revoke Hendrick’s passport to help Philippine authorities immediately deport the priest, the immigration bureau said in a statement.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly lashed out at the dominant Catholic church and its priests over such abuses, saying he himself along with other students were sexually molested by an American priest in their high school days.
