On Sunday, the Catholic Women Human Rights Activists, a group made up of 194 Indonesian Catholic women, condemned the sexual assaults allegedly carried out by 42-year-old church caretaker Syahril Parlindungan Marbun, who has been accused of molesting at least 20 altar boys between the ages of 11 and 15 since 2012.

 The group said the parents of one of the victims had reported the assault to St. Herkulanus Church in 2014.

 “However, at that time, the issue was solved through mediation by the church, and the suspect was not removed from his position as the altar boys’ mentor but was instead promoted to head of the mentorship subsection,” the group said in a statement on Sunday.

 The group called on the Diocese of Bogor and St. Herkulanus Church to establish a “safe place” maintained by a team of independent experts to manage and document the rehabilitation of victims and their families. 

 Other rights activists have said that the Depok case is only one of many sexual abuse cases in the Church, the majority of which have gone unreported because of a lack of support from church communities.

 Last year, weekly magazine Warta Minggu, published by the Tomang Roman Catholic parish in West Jakarta, reported that at least 56 people had been sexually abused in Catholic churches throughout the country.

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