Santo Domingo, Oct 22 (EFE) A Canadian missionary accused of sexually abusing dozens of boys in neighbouring Haiti was arrested in the northern Dominican province of Puerto Plata, authorities said.
Joao Jose Correira Duarte was captured Tuesday in a hotel where he was staying as a tourist, the DNCD counternarcotics agency said in a communique Wednesday.
He is accused of sexually abusing dozens of boys by taking advantage of his status as a religious minister.
Duarte is facing at least a dozen charges of raping boys between the ages of 12 and 17, according to the communique put out by the DNCD, which participated in the man’s arrest along with immigration officials.
Authorities said Duarte had sexual relations with a group of Haitian youngsters while he was a guest in hotels in Port-au-Prince.
They added that the Canadian had lived in the Haitian capital since 1995 “working as a missionary and serving as the administrator of an orphanage for boys”.
Duarte had sexual relations with the minors in exchange for economic favours, including buying them clothing and paying for the housing of some of his victims’ relatives.
The alleged paedophile will be deported to Canada, where he is facing rape charges.
