3,30,000 children victims of church sex abuse in France: Report

An estimated 330,000 children were victims of sex abuse within France's Catholic Church over the past 70 years, a report has said.

A major French report released Tuesday found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims of sex abuse within France's Catholic Church over the past 70 years, in France's first major reckoning with the devastating phenomenon.

The president of the commission that issued the report, Jean-Marc Sauve, said the estimate, based on scientific research, includes abuses committed by priests and others clerics as well as by non-religious people involved in the church. He said about 80 per cent are male victims.