El Caribe reports on the ongoing investigation into the San Rafael de Yuma orphanage, where children were reportedly raped and subject to other forms of abuse. Such accusations against the Church-run institution first emerged two years ago, although since that time the number of residents has doubled, said a former employee.
Currently, there are four people incarcerated for charges related to the mistreatment of children at the orphanage: the former cook (a 53-year-old woman who is serving a sentence of 15 years for the rape of nine children), two other women and one man, who have been implicated in the most recent rapes of 13 minors that emerged last March. The four former orphanage workers were apparently unknown to each other before meeting within the prison’s walls.
The Ciudad de los Ninos San Francisco Javier home for children first opened its doors in 2000 and was founded by Deacon Rigoberto de Jesus Padial. The incarcerated cook, who maintains her innocence, told El Caribe that at the time of her departure in 2002, the institution was home to eight girls and one boy. “Those girls never left the house. They would go to church and school accompanied by [Padial].”
Another of the women being detained was pinpointed as a perpetrator of the rapes in the victims’ declarations, which also assert she had sexual relations with her own son ? a charge she flatly denies. According to a press conference held by Higuey’s Bishop Nicanor Pena yesterday, at least one of the young victims has named a priest as a participant in the sexual offenses.