A court in East Timor jailed a defrocked American priest for 12 years on Tuesday, his lawyer said, after he was charged with sexually abusing more than a dozen girls over decades.

The case was the first time that allegations of sexual abuse perpetrated by a priest have gone to trial in the staunchly Catholic country.

Richard Daschbach, 84, founded a shelter in the early 1990s for orphans, vulnerable children, and victims of abuse.

His lawyer, Miguel Faria, in comments broadcast by the online news portal SMnewstimor, said his legal team did not accept the sentence and would coordinate with the defendant and his family to prepare an appeal.

Faria said the verdict was based on the testimony of four victims but had not taken into account the testimony of other witnesses.

Daschbach is in custody and could not be reached for comment. He was charged with 14 counts of sexual assault of children under the age of 14, as well as one count of child pornography and domestic violence. The Pittsburgh-born priest was defrocked by the Vatican in November 2018. Daschbach was indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington in August on seven charges of engaging in criminal sexual behavior in a foreign country, according to the US Department of Justice.

JU, S Jurdico Social, a legal aid firm that represents some of the victims, praised the verdict but stated that, given the nature of the crimes, he should have gotten the maximum term of 30 years.

The trial took place in the district of Oecusse, around 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Dili, and close to his Topu Honis refuge.

Daschbach earned the esteem of some in the country's political elite for his aid during East Timor's battle for independence from Indonesia.

Xanana Gusmao, a former leader, and hero of East Timorese independence stirred outrage in February when he was photographed presenting Daschbach a birthday cake.