A Catholic priest from the Upper Palatinate may soon have to answer to a court for sexual abuse. The Nuremberg public prosecutor’s office has meanwhile filed charges against the clergyman on suspicion of sexual abuse of a child without physical contact. This was delivered to the accused for comment, said a spokesman for the district court in Neumarkt on Monday. “The opening of the main proceedings has not yet been decided. However, a decision can be expected in the near future.”
A court spokesman did not want to give details about the accused and the facts before the opening of the proceedings. The allegations became known in the spring. The priest had himself informed the Catholic diocese of Eichstätt about the criminal investigations against him. This initiated a preliminary investigation under canon law, released him from pastoral work and issued a residence ban for his previous place of residence and work.