The bishop of the Mysuru Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church has denied allegations of sexual misconduct and corruption against him and termed them as being baseless. Bishop K.A. William was quoted by ANI as saying, "The allegations are baseless; I have not misused money. Also,the allegation [of sexual misconduct] by the lady is nothing but baseless. I am ready to face them legally and I am ready for investigation."
On Wednesday, News18 reported that William had been accused of misappropriation of funds for the diocese by 37 priests of various parishes in Mysuru. These priests had written to Pope Francis about their allegations.
A group called the Association of Concerned Catholics (AOCC) had filed a complaint with the Mysuru Police on behalf of a woman who had accused William and another priest in the diocese of sexual misconduct. The AOCC released a video to the media about the woman in which she claimed to have worked with the family commission of the diocese.
The woman claimed she had bad experiences with the administration of William since he took charge in 2017. She claimed another priest named Leslie "approached me directly for sex". "He said if I compromise, I can continue my job. I quit in May 2018," the victim was quoted as saying in the video by News 18.
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The woman alleged William got "his men" to follow her at her new workplace and threaten her family. The woman claimed William had sent three men to her office in July 2018 and asked her via phone to accompany them. The trio even showed a video of the woman's child to intimidate her. The woman claimed she accompanied the trio to meet William, Leslie and another priest, all of whom who threatened her. "William said he was capable of putting my life in danger and that am constantly followed," she said.
William held a press conference to deny the allegations. He claimed he had met the woman only twice, for "professional work". William even claimed the allegations were part of diocese politics and were orchestrated by another priest, Father Gilbert.
