Priest (63) imprisoned for sexual abuse of 15-year-old boy
A priest in Croatia has been sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for sexual abuse of a 15-year-old boy.
Priest (63) imprisoned for sexual abuse of 15-year-old boy
A court in Čakovec has sentenced a 63-year-old priest to three years and eight months in prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor boy. According to the judgment, the priest paid the 15-year-old boy multiple times for oral sex, typically around €50, sometimes up to €200, along with occasional gifts of cigarette packets.
The entire case came to light after the priest reported an alleged robbery to police in spring last year. He claimed that three young men had attacked him near a lake in Međimurje and stolen his mobile phone and cash. However, criminal investigation led to three suspects who told a completely different version of events, according to Jutarnji list.
According to their account, the priest had arranged multiple times with the minor boy over the internet for intimate meetings in exchange for money. The young men waited for him at an agreed location instead of the boy and robbed him. After being brought in, they explained that they took his mobile phone because of the photographs on it, knowing that police would find evidence of the abuse.
Police investigators launched a procedure and determined that the priest had arranged online meetings with an alleged minor. He was arrested when he arrived at the agreed location. In addition to imprisonment, the court imposed additional security measures on him.
Until he begins serving his sentence, the convict is not permitted to leave his accommodation at a priests' facility within Caritas. He is prohibited from any contact with the minor victim and must maintain a distance of at least one hundred metres. He has also been temporarily suspended from performing priestly duties.
The entire court proceedings were held in closed session to protect the minor victim. During the trial, the priest categorically denied all charges and called the witnesses' statements and presented evidence contradictory. The court did not believe him, and in the judgment's explanation it was highlighted that in committing the criminal act he demonstrated a high level of criminal intent, persistence, recklessness and callousness.
Data were obtained from Dnevnik.
Source: Google News SI — Crime (sl)