Third allegation of sexual abuse in children’s charity
A new case – the third – of possible sexual abuse of a minor by a prominent member of the well-known children’s charity Ark of the World (Kivotos tou Kosmou) is reportedly being investigated by police.
The complaint was made by a 15-year-old child who lives at one of the NGO’s facilities in the city of Volos, who testified to the police’s juvenile protection division that he was a victim of sexual assault by a high-ranking member of the organization, state-run broadcaster ERT reported Thursday.
The first to report the abuse was a 19-year-old who was previously hosted in the charity’s facilities and allegedly fell victim to sexual exploitation in 2021. He gave a detailed statement to the police child protection division last week regarding a certain member of the NGO and the sexual abuse he was subjected to by the same person.
A second statement was given to the Attica Police by a boy who lives at one of the NGO’s facilities on the eastern Aegean island of Chios. He witnessed the sexual abuse of an underage roommate by the same person that the 19-year-old had reported.
The incident on Chios occurred in 2021 but the eyewitness refrained from testifying at the time to the police, apparently out of fear.
The investigation into the charity is moving in two directions: The first concerns allegations of systematic physical and mental abuse, including beating and locking children up in their rooms for days on end and the second focuses on allegations of rape and sexual abuse, which emerged after the Ombudsman shared its findings with the public prosecutor’s office, with a recommendation for a further inquiry.
