The Catholic Church has denied rumours that it acquitted an HIV-infected priest who admitted to raping close to 30 young girls between the ages of five and 10 years old, calling the claims 'irresponsible and malicious'.

A bombshell report was published by the Spanish-language news site Urgente24.com claiming that the priest, Jose Garcia Ataulfo, was absolved of any wrongdoing by the Archdiocese of Mexico.

Ataulfo was alleged to have admitted sexually assaulting indigenous young girls from Oaxaca, a state in southern Mexico known for its large indigenous population.

However, this has been firmly denied by the Archdiocese of Mexico, who told the Catholic News Agency that they could find no records of any priest matching his description.

Ataulfo was alleged to have admitted sexually assaulting indigenous young girls from Oaxaca

The report, picked up from the website of Anonymous Mexico, said that Ataulfo had faced no criminal charges, claiming this was most likely due to the significant influence that the Catholic Church wields in Mexico, particularly in areas populated by indigenous ethnic groups.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese stated that the the priest 'does not belong to the Archdiocese of Mexico – as Anonymous Mexico asserts – much less has he been let off'.

The Archbishop of Antequera, Oaxaca, José Luis Chávez Botello, told CNA: 'I don't know him, he's not from the archdiocese.'

Since publishing the claims, Anonymous Mexico did not follow up on the subject, and their website has since been taken offline.

Archdiocese of Mexico states that there are no records matching the description of the priest