Bulgaria Denies Italian Report of Sexual Abuse of Orphans

Information in Italian media about child sexual abuse in a Bulgarian orphanage is untrue and total slander.

The statement was made before bTV Tuesday by the Director of Bulgaria's Child Protection Agency, Kalin Kamenov, in commenting on a shocking article published over the weekend by the Italian magazine "Espresso" telling the horror story of cases of pedophilia in a social home for children near the capital Sofia.

Kamenov now says his institution had already conducted a probe at the said orphanage and found that the story in the Italian media was unfounded and not corresponding to the real facts.

The article in question is based on the stories told by three Bulgarian children, who have been adopted a few months ago by Italian families.

The two boys, ages 10 and 11, and the girl, 9, have shared with their Italian parents that older children from the social home went to their rooms every night to beat them and rape them. The kids reported that the caretakers in the orphanage knew about the abuse, but never did anything to prevent it or stop it.

The boys and the girl have further said they have been victimized by adult pedophiles as well, who during the weekends picked them up from the social home, took them to bars, forced them into prostitution, raped them and took pictures of them.

They have also insisted that their caretaker threatened them that they would be brought back to Bulgaria if they dare to tell the above to their Italian parents.

Italian psychologists, who are now working with the children, were quoted saying their stories are absolutely trustworthy.