An International Priest affiliated with the local Roman Catholic Church was reportedly taken into custody on July 5, 2023, in relation to the sexual assault of an 11-year-old child. 

The Priest was reportedly pointed out during an identification parade on Monday and is said to have been in Jamaica for a few years.

According to reports, the Priest took the 11-year-old child (a female) to his home on the church premises in St. Catherine earlier this year, where he sexually assaulted her. 

Reportedly, this took place several times and even after mass.

The Priest is expected to be slapped with multiple charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years old, sexual grooming, and sexual touching of a child. 

He has since been removed from duties with the church and in a statement Monday night, Archbishop of Kingston, Kenneth Richards, who is also President of the Jamaica Council of Churches said the church has and will be cooperating fully with the relevant authorities on this matter. He added that they wish to express publicly their deep concern for all parties involved in this reported incident.