Court visits scene of alleged crime in trial of former Kiti bishop

The trial of former Kiti bishop Chrysostomos – accused of assaulting a teenage girl – resumed with an on-site visit to his office on Wednesday, where the alleged offence took place 40 years ago.

The Larnaca district court met at the scene of the alleged crime shortly before 1pm, following a request by the prosecution lawyer Anna Yiallourou. At the scene, the former bishop answered questions about the layout of his office.

The visit aimed to clarify some layout and decoration details after the now 57-year-old woman said the sofa in his office during the assault was burgundy. Attacking the accuser’s credibility, the bishop said the sofa in his office was beige with a floral pattern.

Before the site visit on Wednesday, his counsel submitted a bundle of photographs as evidence to try and prove the bishop’s claims that the sofa in his office in 1981 was a different colour of what the plaintiff claims.

The plaintiff has also testified that the bishop’s office would automatically lock when pressing a button, which the bishop also disputed.

Chrysostomos is accused of indecent assault back in 1981, when the alleged victim was aged 16.

The plaintiff claims that during her first visit to Chrysostomos’ office at the Kiti bishopric, the bishop sat down beside her on a sofa and began touching her hands. He allegedly assaulted her on her fifth visit when the cleric shoved her, pressed himself on top of her and kissed her on the lips. She began repeatedly screaming “let me out,” at which point she claimed the bishop got off her and opened the door.

She pressed charges in 2021 – 40 years after the alleged incident.

Last summer the defendant’s defence lawyers had argued the 84-year-old lacked the mental capacity to follow legal proceedings, but the court denied the motion.

In October last year, Larnaca criminal court acquitted Chrysostomos in another sexual abuse case, after a woman accused him of raping her in his office in April 2011.