A 78-year-old American priest who had been in the country for the past five decades was arrested by a composite team from the United States Homeland Security and the Philippine Bureau of Immigration on Wednesday.
According to a GMA 7 report, Fr. Kenneth Bernard Hendricks, 78, was accused of molesting and raping over 50 victims, most of whom were sacristans, some as young as seven years old.
In an interview, Hendricks said that his arrest saddens him since he had developed close ties with the people in Biliran.
Some patrons of his congregation even turned emotional when Hendricks had to say goodbye when he was arrested.
The long-time Biliran prelate, however, was first brought to a provincial hospital for a medical checkup before he was brought to Manila for deportation proceedings.
