Two more women on Wednesday came forward reporting to police that disgraced former Kition bishop Chrysostomos allegedly had also assaulted them in the past.
The number of filed complaints against the once powerful high-ranking priest has now risen to eight, Philenews reported on Thursday.
Chrysostomos, who is now in his early ‘80s, was found guilty on Monday of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in a historic case dating back 42 years.
The case brought to light not only his actions in relation to the indecent assault of the teenage woman at the time but also his ‘indecent’ lifestyle when traveling abroad.
He apparently used to take off his robes – following the practice of Catholic priests, as he admitted – even though this is not allowed in the Orthodox religion.
A complaint of sexual assault during one of his trips abroad years ago was reported in 2021 by a woman who is a non-resident of Cyprus. But the case did not proceed because the alleged offence had taken place overseas.
Three other complaints were made to the police at the same time while two more women came forward after the Court’s verdict on Monday.
As his dethronement by the Holy Synod is imminent, a police spokesman urged any person who had fallen victim of the former bishop to file a complaint.
“There is a sub-division in the Force investigating cases involving vulnerable persons and they have specialized staff for such cases,” Christos Andreou said.
“Several such cases have been investigated in recent years and we, as the Police, can assure you that their cases will be handled with the utmost confidentiality,” he added.
