The Larnaca District Court has found former Kition Bishop Chrysostomos guilty for an indecent assault against a minor in an incident that occurred in 1981.
The incident took place in his office inside the Kition bishopric when the victim was 16 years old.
The woman pressed charges in 2021, 40 years after the alleged incident .
The woman testified that she had visited Chrysostomos’ office five times to receive an allowance from the Church as an orphan because her father had recently passed away. She said that the fifth time she went there, the Bishop locked the door and assaulted her on his couch.
The case will resume on May 26, when the judge will pronounce his sentence.
Supporters and family of the victim gathered at the court cheered after the decision of the trial.
It is the first time a high-ranking Church official is found guilty of a crime in Cyprus.
