Kivotos founder and former head is charged with sexual abuse of minors
FILE PHOTO: The founder of the NGO, which is overseen by an interim board, has denied all charges as lies and a setup. ΑΝΑ-ΜPA/ ALEXANDROS BELTES
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The founder and former head of children’s charity organization ‘Kivotos tou Kosmou’, Father Antonios, was formally charged on Friday with the crime of sexual abuse of minors.
The criminal charges relate to actions that took place from September 2020 to January 2022, and include the cases of a young person, currently 19, who was a resident at a Kivotos facility in rural Greece and another resident boy, currently 15, who filed the initial charges.
Another seven former staff members – working at Athens, Volos, and Chios island facilities of the NGO – are being prosecuted for misdemeanors including physical abuse of children from April 2018 to August 2022, with the priest being legally considered the instigator.
The two case files, incolving crime charges and misdemeanor charges, will proceed separately. Fr Antonios is expected to be summoned for testimony before an investigating magistrate.
Investigations on the case began in November 2022, and all of the above were summoned to testify in December. Other investigations are also being carried out involving other Kivotos staff and children. They include an investigation into the finances of Kivotos, the priest, his wife, and another nine individuals, to determine whether there is liability for tax evasion and money laundering.
The founder of the NGO, which is overseen by an interim board, has denied all charges as lies and a setup.
Source: ANA – MPA
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