Richard Daschbach was accused by more than a dozen women in East Timor of sexually abusing them as children.
A former American priest has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after abusing young girls in his care in the Southeast Asian country of East Timor.
"The history written today is a bitter history for the entire nation," said the group."Our children were subjected to horrendous crimes for such a long time because we, as a society, were blinded by the belief that a figure as the defendant in this case would not commit such crimes against children."
The church and foreign donors who once supported Daschbach's shelter said he confessed to the abuse, but the former priest and his lawyers have at various times refused to comment. They did not make their legal strategy public and court proceedings were closed.