Prosecutors demand 29 years in prison for a priest accused of raping his two nieces in Ourense

The Office of the Prosecutor has sought a 29-year prison sentence for a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Ourense, whom it attributes two continued offenses of sexual assault with carnal access over his two nieces, who were minors under 16 years old at the time the acts occurred, "taking advantage of his relationship of moral and physical superiority due to his status as a priest and because of the young age of the victims."

In the summary of the charging document, it is detailed that the defendant, the father’s brother of both girls, would have made use of his direct family link with the children; "the trust placed in him by the family setting; his personal, religious, and moral authority over the injured parties"; and the early age of these to carry out "in a repeated manner acts against sexual freedom" of the two minors.

The Public Prosecutor requests that the trial, which will take place before the Provincial Court of Ourense, be held behind closed doors due to the nature of the offenses, considering that their dissemination "would harm the intimacy and dignity" of the victims and of their family, "thereby being able to restrict and negatively influence their testimony and that of their family members," in addition to seeking "to limit the possible damage caused to the victims," who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder derived from the events.

Account of the facts

With regard to the first niece, the public prosecutor places the abuses between June 2000 and December 2008, a period in which the minor was between 8 and 17 years old, starting in the temporal setting of her First Communion. 

From the time she turned 12 years old and until approximately 17, the accused would have maintained forced sexual relations with her on numerous occasions and in different settings "to which he had access by virtue of his family relationship or priestly status," including the family’s homes, premises linked to the religious sphere, and other places where he could create "situations of isolation or special trust with the minor."

As for the second victim, the accusation places the facts between 2004 and 2009, when the girl was between 8 and 13 years old, asserting that the priest repeated with her the same pattern of conduct, with repeated acts of a sexual nature during that period.

Request for sentences and compensation

With regard to the first victim, the Public Prosecutor's Office seeks a sentence of 15 years in prison, absolute disqualification during the time of the sentence, and payment of compensation of 150,000 euros for moral damage, psychological damage, sequelae, and personal harm derived from the events, declaring the Diocese of Ourense civilly liable in a subsidiary capacity.

For the second niece, the Public Prosecutor's Office requests 14 years in prison, absolute disqualification for the same duration, and an economic compensation of 110,000 euros for moral damage, psychological damage, sequelae, and personal harm, with the same subsidiary civil liability of the Diocese of Ourense.

In addition, the prosecutor asks that the accused be prohibited from approaching within less than 500 meters and communicating with the two victims for a period of 10 years, as well as special disqualification for any profession or occupation that involves direct contact with minors and the inclusion of his DNA profile in the database of the State Security Forces and Corps.