The Church of Denmark abuse scandal

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2019

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How did a priest of the Church of Denmark manage to sexually abuse children for a decade without being detected? Gry Hoffmann investigates the case of Dan Peschack, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for the abuse of eight children.

Through interviews first recorded for Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s P1 documentary, she discovers “The Seducer” - a man who used his charisma and the power of his position in the Evangelical Lutheran state church to abuse children in the village of Tømmerup near Kalundborg on the west coast of Denmark. When Peschack was first arrested in 2016, many of the locals didn’t want to believe it, while others had been carrying a terrible secret for years.

In graphic accounts, which some listeners may find upsetting, victims describe their experience of Peschack’s abuse. One speaks of his shock at discovering the extent of the assaults and of his anger at the betrayal by a man who he thought was his friend. Parents who were suspicious regret their failure to act, while others realise they were duped into trusting their children to a paedophile.

Peschack’s appeal against his sentence has been rejected and he’s been banned from working as a priest, but have lessons been learned by the church authorities, whose priest inflicted on his victims such devastating harm?

Reporter: Gry Hoffmann Producer: Sheila Cook Editor: Bridget Harney

(Image: Tommerup town name road-sign with church in background. Credit: Gry Hoffmann)

Transcript

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0:13.0	The priest was standing by my side of the bed.
0:16.0	I clearly remember wondering whether he'd beat me to death if he found out I was awake,
0:21.0	because what would happen if I carried on with this.
0:24.8	This is Martin.
0:26.2	He was among eight children, seven boys and one girl who was sexually abused by a priest
0:31.5	in the church of Denmark when they were aged between 12 and 15.
0:37.0	The priest Dan Pechak was sentenced to 10 years in prison. This is the BBC World Service.
0:50.8	I'm Grew Hoffman and in this this week's assignment which I should warn you contains descriptions of child abuse.
0:58.0	I ask how Pershach managed to make a whole community fall in love with him to the point where they ended up
1:04.8	in trusting a pedophile with their children.
1:10.1	The interviews were originally recorded for Danish broadcast corporations P1. The of the church authorities to try to find out how Pershach could have carried out this abuse
1:24.8	for a decade without anyone intervening.
1:31.0	When he was first arrested in 2016, it appears many of the locals didn't want to believe it,
1:37.0	while others had been carrying a terrible secret for years.
1:42.0	So I'm going to make a test for a little bit. for years. Together with my ...
1:44.0	I can't them up, yes.
1:45.0	Together with my colleague,
1:55.2	Together with my colleague Kristen Ingle, I went to where it all happened, the little village of Temerup on the outskirts of Kalanbau, a seaside town 100 kilometers west of Copenhagen.
2:07.2	It's a small community of 1500 people living in tiny clusters of charming houses and farms. The elegant wide-washed church stands on a rich close to the priest's home, a solid red brick rectory.
2:17.0	There's the usual local supermarket, and the village children either hang out at the local sports hall or take the bus to Kalamboe to go to the youth club there.
2:30.0	Pesia could move to Tumorpe in 2004 and was popular in the village with elderly people, parents, children and young people, especially boys.
2:46.1	We spoke to many of the young people who spent time with him back in the 2000s.
	...

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