Former Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said on Tuesday on TV that he was sexually abused by a priest as a boy at a secondary school in Ghent.
The perpetrator, now deceased, allegedly asked him to take off his pants, Van Quickenborne said on 'De tafel van Gert' talk show, aired on Play 4 TV.
A little out of the blue, Mr. Van Quickenborne testified about violence committed at the boarding school he attended, which he described as "reputable," but without specifying which one.
When boys were sick, the former minister explained, the priest would go into their room and ask them to take off their pants in front of him.
"All the young people in the boarding school experienced this," Van Quickenborne said. "He was watching. These were serious incidents. The boys talked about it among themselves, but it wasn't reported at the time."
Van Quickenborne, who who resigned on Friday, added that he had not told the story before because "the suffering inflicted on other people (...) was far greater."
The name of the perpetrator appears in the files of Rik Devillé, a priest who accompanies and supports victims of sexual violence in the Church.
"It was a very serious situation that went on for a very long time," Devillé said after the broadcast. "There were a lot of victims in that school."
"I hope it won't happen again," the former minister concluded.
