The Crime Board has ruled that Father Antonios will stand trial for serial and ongoing sexual abuse of two minors in a case involving the children's charity Peace Ark.
Father Antonios is accused of sexually abusing two underage boys in the period from 2020 to 2022 in various institutions of the “Ark of Peace”.
The charges against him were brought by a 19-year-old former resident and a 15-year-old teenager who is still being held in one of the organization's facilities.
In mid-June, prosecutor Dimitris Nomikos recommended to the Crime Board that the founder of Peace Ark be charged with sexual assault against two boys, one of whom was under 14 at the time of the alleged abuse.
In his recommendation, he concluded that there was sufficient evidence against the priest to proceed to trial for repeated sexual abuse of two minors. The prosecutor rejected the defendant's claims that two statements made by former Ark residents were unreliable.
The prosecutor said the victims' claims were corroborated by witnesses who either witnessed the incidents or recalled what the victims told them before formal complaints were filed.
The prosecutor added that witnesses confirmed the victims' relationship with the accused, especially the victims' long stay in the defendant's personal premises.
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