Prosecutors open investigations in German Catholic school abuse scandal

Legal investigations begin in German abuse scandal

BERLIN — German prosecutors have opened investigations into allegations of sexual abuse at two Roman Catholic schools — the first legal action since reports of priests abusing students surfaced in January.

The Munich prosecutor’s office said in a statement Thursday that senior prosecutor Andrea Titz had opened an investigation into allegations of abuse against a member of a Benedictine-run boarding school in Ettal, Bavaria.

News organizations also reported Wednesday that Bonn prosecutors are investigating the former director of the Jesuits’ Aloisius Kolleg.

A lawyer investigating the cases for the Jesuit Order says the overall number of abuse complaints has risen to 150. The statute of limitations has lapsed on most of the cases, meaning they cannot be prosecuted.