The Associated Press

TOLEDO - The arrest of a Roman Catholic priest in the "ritualistic" slaying of a nun has prompted more people to claim they were abused by clergy members.

Two of those claims, which have not been verified, included "graphic accounts" of ritualistic abuse, a spokeswoman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said on Thursday.

In all, 10 people have contacted the support group about alleged past abuse, said Claudia Vercelloti, a director of the Toledo office.

The claims, some made anonymously, have come in the days after the Rev. Gerald Robinson was charged last Friday with murder in the strangling and stabbing of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl, 71, over Easter weekend 1980.

Her body was discovered in a chapel at Mercy Hospital, covered by an altar cloth. The body was posed to look as though she had been sexually assaulted, but investigators have said they found no evidence of sexual activity.

"I think the victims are being very courageous," Vercelloti said. "Sometimes a groundswell of attention pushes them into hiding."

None of the new claims of abuse was made against Robinson.

He remained in the Lucas County jail Thursday while supporters tried to raise the $200,000 cash, or $400,000 in property, for his bond. Supporters said they had the funds but needed more time to complete paperwork and have it verified.

Police have said that a woman who said she had been physically and sexually abused as a child by several priests, including Robinson, spurred them to take another look at the nun's slaying.

Vercelloti and a member of the Toledo diocese's review board took the woman's allegations to an official at the state's Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation in October.

Vercelloti said on Thursday that following the meeting, she returned and gave the official a copy of the woman's statement made in June before the diocese's review board that described specific details of abuse.

The review board could not substantiate the allegations so Vercelloti took them to the state agency.

The diocese now is taking another look at the woman's claims of satanic sex abuse.

Three other people have said they were abused by priests in rituals, said Catherine Hoolahan, a Toledo attorney. All of the claims, made before Robinson's arrest, mentioned similar occurrences, she said, but she would not provide details.

Prosecutors say new information they have refused to identify became available that led to a murder charge being filed against Robinson.