MADRID (AP) — Church officials in northern Spain say the Vatican has suspended a priest for 10 years over allegations that he abused schoolchildren more than three decades ago.

The priest, Jose Manuel Ramos, is required to serve out his suspension in a monastery outside of his Astorga diocese, according to bishop Juan Antonio Menendez.

Menendez said Monday that the Holy See's orthodoxy watchdog decided the punishment following an internal investigation concluding that Ramos "had committed a serious crime of sexual abuse of minors" between 1981 and 1984.

The bishop said the disciplinary measures apply because the statute of limitations has expired and the case can't be taken to court.

He said that he ordered the investigation last year soon after hearing the allegations from one victim.