The Dominican Republic’s top prosecutor said Sept. 4 that he plans to investigate claims of sexual abuse allegedly committed by the apostolic nuncio to the Dominican Republic, just a day after the Vatican confirmed its own investigation into the allegations.

Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, appointed as nuncio in 2008, was removed from the post Aug. 21.

A Dominican bishop confirmed in early September that the dismissal was due to the sexual abuse scandal unfolding in the Caribbean country.

In early September, Dominican Church leaders distanced themselves from Wesolowski, with the cardinal and secretaries general urging the justice system to investigate.

Days after Wesolowski’s removal, a television news program aired allegations that he had paid for sex with minors and was connected to a Polish priest accused of sexually assaulting at least 14 underage boys.

The program, Nuria, claimed Wesolowski regularly visited Santo Domingo’s historic centre, where he allegedly drank alcohol and paid for sex with underage boys in an abandoned monument nearby.