The Athens public prosecutor's office has initiated legal proceedings against the head of a Greek NGO managing children's homes for sexual abuse of minors, we learned on Friday from judicial sources.
The founder and director of the Orthodox NGO, L'Arche du Monde, Father Antonios Papanikolaou, who has worked since 1998 with children from poor Greek families or migrants, has been accused of sexual abuse by a former beneficiary of the Ark of the world now 19 years old and a 15 year old who is still housed in a structure of the organization.
Organization in crisis
The facts allegedly took place, according to the alleged victims, between September 2020 and January 2022. The prosecution has also initiated criminal proceedings against seven other former employees of the Organization, who are being prosecuted in particular for mistreatment, injuries bodily harm and harm to physical integrity.
Father Antonios Papanikolaou dismissed these accusations in court, saying they were “
shocking and totally false
”.
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Another investigation is underway and concerns possible fraud within the NGO, which over the years has received millions of euros and dozens of properties from private donors.
Following the revelations of abuse published in the press last fall, the government had completely changed the board of directors and the direction of the NGO.
The head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, also stressed that Father Papanikolaou was "
solely responsible
" for the functioning of the organization, and that he had "
never consented
" to cooperate with officials of the Greek Church in charge of social assistance.
"
Both within the Church and in all of Greek society, we are shocked to the highest degree
," he added.
