LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A committee that has been examining historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church says 512 alleged victims have come forward.
Senior Portuguese church officials had previously claimed that only a handful of cases had occurred.
The Independent Committee for the Study of Child Abuse in the Catholic Church, set up by Portuguese bishops just over a year ago, looked into alleged cases from 1950 onward. The panel produced its final report Monday. Portuguese bishops are due to discuss the report next month.
The statute of limitations has expired on most of the alleged cases.
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