Clergyman imprisoned for rape and possession of child pornography
A former Roman Catholic clergyman has been given a custodial sentence for a rape committed at a facility for boarders in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Pieters-Woluwe and for the possession of child pornography. He was acquitted on charges related to a rape he allegedly committed while he was on a religious mission in the Central African Republic.
The former clergyman Luk D. was sentenced by a court in Leuven (Flemish Brabant). It was not the first time that Luk D. had appeared in court to answer charges related to sexual offences. In 2012 he admitted to two charges of sexual abuse. His victims were minors that were boarders at a facility where he worked as tutor. He was given an 18-month suspended sentence one of the conditions of which was a ban on working with minors.
Nevertheless, he went to do missionary work in the Central African Republic. He was allowed to do so on condition that he only held an administrative post. However, he became the coordinator of a refugee camp where 6,000 vulnerable adults and minors were housed. As he had broken the conditions of his suspended sentence, he was also convicted of this too on top of the charge of rape committed in Belgium and the possession of child porn.
The American news channel CNN broadcast a documentary in which it was alleged that Luk D had raped several boys while he was in the Central African Republic. However, the court in Leuven found the allegations to be not proven.
During the investigation two additional offences came to light. Luk D. sexually assaulted a boy at a school in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe more than a decade ago. The court gave the former clergy man to a 20-month suspended sentence for this. In addition, he was given a 10-month prison sentence for the possession of child pornography and also banned from having any form of professional contact with minors for 10 years.
