A court in Rome on Thursday sentenced a former Catholic priest to 15
years in prison for child abuse, as a wave of paedophilia cases by
clergymen across Europe reaches Pope Benedict XVI's doorstep.
Ruggero
Conti, a former parish priest at Selva Candida on the outskirts of the
Italian capital, was found guilty of abusing seven children between 1998
and 2008 when he was arrested. He had claimed complete innocence.
Prosecutors
had sought 18 years in prison for Conti on charges of sex acts against
minors, sexual violence and incitement to prostitution of a minor.
He was accused of carrying out some of his crimes on parish camping trips.
The
case has attracted wide media attention in Italy as relatively few
priestly abuse scandals have come to light in this predominantly
Catholic country, compared to the hundreds in northern Europe and the
United States.
A lawyer for the victims, Fabrizio Gallo, told
reporters he would also seek "a just compensation" from Vatican
authorities after the court ordered Conti to pay around 200,000 euros
(279,000 dollars) in damages.
"This trial showed that the
accusations were true and that the lives of many people have been
destroyed forever. I hope the Church will find a solution and compensate
victims who have been abandoned," Gallo said.
"No-one offered them a hand to help them or say sorry," he added.
During
the trial, the bishop in charge of Conti's parish, Gino Reali, admitted
he had ignored initial rumours saying: "I didn't believe them."
He later launched an investigation after two victims came forward.
Conti's lawyer, Patrizio Spinelli, said his client would appeal.