Authorities have arrested a priest on accusations of sexually abusing minors, the latest turn in a scandal engulfing Chile's Roman Catholic Church for having covered up abuses for decades. Oscar Munoz Toledo, a priest who was once the chancellor of Santiago's archbishopric, was arrested by police yesterday on the orders of prosecutor Emiliano Arias, who is investigating 14 other suspended priests in the southern diocese of Rancagua for allegedly participating in a network of abuse. Munoz is accused of the abuse and statutory rape of seven minors, and Arias did not rule out that there were more victims.

Munoz, who reported himself in January for a case of abuse, was scheduled to be taken to court today. Authorities are investigating whether he had accomplices. Munoz, 56, is the first active priest arrested for sexual abuse since March, when a report ordered by Pope Francis revealed a culture of abuse and cover-ups for decades in Chile's church. If he is found guilty, Munoz could be sentenced to prison. His arrest came one month after prosecutors raided the diocese of Rancagua, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Santiago, along with the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Santiago's archbishopric, to seize material related to the scandal. Yesterday, Arias ordered a new raid on the Santiago offices.