In 2004 the Catholic Church Altagracia Diocese and police authorities in the Dominican Republic were informed that thirteen children resident at the Catholic run orphanage “City of the Child, San Francisco Javier” in Higüey Province, Dominican Republic were raped and otherwise sexually abused by priests, a teacher and employees of the orphanage. The children’s testimony and medical evidence supported the allegations.

Two low level employees were convicted of these crimes and sentenced to prison. Mysteriously, they died while in prison in a fire that killed 134 prisoners. Police records show that they had been shot before the fire burned their bodies and surviving prisoners testified that guards jammed the locks in the prison so the inmates could not get out. Guards claimed that the fire was the result of a fight between prison gangs. There has been no explanation of why the guards didn’t release the prisoners and there have been no prosecutions in connection with this event. Conveniently, the death of the two convicted employees eliminated two adult witnesses to the crimes against the children.

Since 2005, there have been no prosecutions of the priests and others who were named by the children as perpetrators of the heinous crimes against them.