A woman who survived sexual abuse at the hands of a convicted paedophile former priest fears he will hurt her again if the Timor-Leste government succeeds in having him pardoned.
Defrocked priest Richard Daschbach, a United States citizen, was convicted by a Timor-Leste court in December 2021 after being found guilty of sexually abusing orphaned and disadvantaged young girls under his care.
The high-profile trial and conviction were the first of their kind in the staunchly religious nation, where about 97 per cent of the population identifies as Catholic.
Daschbach, now 88 years old, has had the strong support of Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, who attended his 2021 trial and controversially celebrated Daschbach's birthday at the time.
And this week it was revealed Timor-Leste's government had proposed that the ex-priest be pardoned and released.
Mária, who Daschbach sexually abused when she was a child at the Topu Honis children's shelter in the country's remote west, is calling for Timorese President José Ramos-Horta to reject the government-backed proposal to release him from prison.
"If he gets out, he could commit his evil deeds to other women," Mária, who the ABC has given a pseudonym for safety reasons, said.
"It looks like he will go back to the Topu Honis orphanage [where he committed his crimes] and could hurt our hearts as victims who have attended [his] trial in court."
Mr Ramos-Horta must decide whether to grant Daschbach's release by Tuesday, to coincide with the country's annual Independence Day celebrations.
It is a tradition for convicted criminals to receive pardons on that day.
The proposal to pardon Daschbach only four years into his 12-year prison term has faced a backlash from both advocates of victim-survivors and opposition MPs.
Legal aid groups in Timor-Leste have called on Mr Ramos-Horta to meet victim-survivors before making a decision on the matter.
Observers also warn the proposal to pardon Daschbach will retraumatise victim-survivors and send a dangerous message to Timor-Leste about child sexual abuse and gender-based violence.
"He was found guilty and admitted to terrible crimes against young girls," said Sara Niner, a Monash University senior lecturer who has researched Timor-Leste for 20 years.
"The man should die in jail."
'We will be afraid'
Mária said she and other victim-survivors lived in fear before Daschbach was convicted and imprisoned four years ago.
"We looked for people to hide us," she said.
"When he went to prison, we felt free, we were not afraid," she said.
But she fears that will change if he is released and says victim-survivors will suffer even more.
"If he does get out of prison, we'll be afraid again, because as victims, what we say, people won't believe us again," she said.
"People can provoke us again."
Daschbach spent decades as a missionary in Timor-Leste's remote enclave of Oecusse after moving to the country in 1966, when it was a Portuguese colony.
He was a figure in the nation's fight for independence and was once highly regarded for founding the Topu Honis, or Guide To Life, children's shelters that cared for orphans and children and youth from impoverished families, people with disabilities, and women who fled domestic violence.
But Daschbach was expelled from his Catholic congregation in 2019 after admitting to sexual abuse of minors, and the previous year, he was expelled from the Church de Santo Antonio de Motael in the capital Dili.
He later faced charges of child sexual abuse, as well as child pornography and domestic violence.
Jurídico Social, which represents 15 survivors of sexual abuse committed by Daschbach, said Mr Ramos-Horta should meet the convicted paedophile's victims before deciding on a pardon.
"The sentence imposed reflects the court's assessment of what was legally just and proportionate, based on the facts of the case, the applicable law, the accused's advanced age, and the defence arguments presented in relation to the crimes committed," it said in a written statement.
"The sentence was upheld at the appeal level.
"Should [Mr Ramos-Horta] wish to hear the voices and perspectives of the victims regarding the proposal for a pardon or reduction of sentence, as required by law, the victims stand ready to meet with him."
Mária said she wanted to speak directly to Mr Ramos-Horta.
"We did not lie about it," she said.
"If the president wants to make a decision to release him from prison, then the president is saying he wants to make us suffer."
The ABC approached Mr Ramos-Horta and his office for comment.
'It will send a message'
Opposition MPs have voiced their condemnation of the government move to have Daschbach pardoned.
Fretilin Party MP Nurima Alkatiri said she was concerned about the impact it would have on victim-survivors.
"By hearing this, they most probably are living their traumas all over again," she said.
"This was a very serious crime and it was not easy for the victims or survivors to come forward and report it."
Dr Niner said the proposal to pardon Daschbach was not surprising given Mr Gusmão's previous support for him.
The ABC asked Mr Gusmão's office to clarify his role in the move to have Daschbach pardoned, but it did not respond to questions before deadline.
Dr Niner said the proposal sent the wrong message because Timor-Leste was just starting to speak about issues relating to sexual abuse.
"These things have been hidden and covered up," she said.
"It will send a message to the wider community that these sorts of crimes are pardonable … that it should be tolerated. And that it should be hidden and covered up."
Dr Niner said Mr Ramos-Horta should reject the proposed pardon.
She also said the government should withdraw it altogether.
"[We should be] thinking about the effect on the victim-survivors," Dr Niner said.
"These girls have survived and continue to rebuild their lives.
"Think about how this would affect them instead of focusing on a perpetrator of sexual abuse."
For Mária, there is an anxious wait until Mr Ramos-Horta makes a decision on Daschbach's future.
"I hope he doesn't get out from prison," she said.
