In Lithuania, a priest is accused of sexual crimes against minors. According to the investigation, this went on for 23 years

Lithuania’s Prosecutor’s Office has brought a criminal case against a Catholic priest to court; he is accused of sexual offenses against minors. According to the investigation, the crimes may have been committed from 2002 to 2025. Eleven people have been recognized as victims in the case; at the time of the alleged crimes, they were between 12 and 18 years old. _Bns

The priest has been charged with 34 counts. Among them are, in particular, involving children in alcohol consumption, using minors for pornography, corrupting persons under 16, sexual acts for payment, as well as three counts of rape of minors, which the prosecutor’s office reports.

According to the investigation, most of the alleged crimes took place in residential premises belonging to the Catholic Church. This concerns six localities in Lithuania. The case is being heard by the Vilnius Regional Court.

According to media reports citing court schedules in the Liteko system, the accused is a 56-year-old priest who was ordained on June 29, 2001. _LAIKMETIS At the same time, the priest has not yet been found guilty. The case has only been brought to court, and the final decision must be made by the Vilnius Regional Court.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the priest is charged with 13 counts of involving a child or children in drunkenness, nine counts of sexual exploitation of minors for pornography, four counts of corruption of persons under 16, and three counts of satisfying sexual desire by violating a minor’s sexual freedom for payment. In addition, according to LRT, there are three more counts in which sexual desire may have been satisfied by violating a minor’s sexual freedom for payment; in two cases the priest allegedly committed rape of minors, and in one case he is accused of raping a minor. _{Bns / Vakarų ekspresas}

According to the prosecutor’s office, 11 people have been recognized as victims in the case; at the time the acts were committed, they were between 12 and 18 years old.

The accused has been placed under a written undertaking not to leave the country and his passport has been seized; to secure the civil claims of the victims, his right to real estate has also been restricted. The case has been referred to the Vilnius Regional Court.

A related case. In June, another criminal case was brought before the Vilnius City District Court — against another priest who worked in the Vilnius Archdiocese, accused of possessing child pornography. According to the media, this is 51-year-old Ričardas Pocius, ordained on November 21, 1999; he has been given a preventive measure in the form of a written undertaking not to leave the country. According to the prosecutor, there are no victims in this case, since it concerns visual material depicting a child or a person presented as a child. The investigation into the first priest, during which 34 episodes were established, helped uncover information about the possession of pornography by the second priest. The hearing in this case is scheduled for September 17.

Why were the crimes not uncovered for so long?

Asked about this, prosecutor Laucius said that nobody had filed a complaint, and in his view, that is one of the reasons the crimes were not uncovered for so long.

The Vilnius Archdiocese said it had received information about the prosecutor’s decision to bring two criminal cases against two priests to court. A representative of the archdiocese stated that every report of possible inappropriate behavior toward a child or a vulnerable person is shocking and painful, and that behind every such report stands a person with their own experiences, and urged against attempts to identify individuals or make assumptions in order to protect the safety of the victims. Archbishop Gintaras Grušas said that the Church cannot be a place for the exploitation of a child or vulnerable person, and that what has happened once again requires a responsible assessment of whether everything has been done to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable people in communities. According to LRT, both priests have been removed from their positions, and the archdiocese stated the need to report such crimes to law enforcement authorities. _LRT

Important note: the case has been brought to court, but no verdict has yet been handed down — from a legal standpoint, all the charges listed at this stage are allegations made by the prosecutor’s office, not facts established by the court. Guilt will be determined by the Vilnius Regional Court (in the first case) and the Vilnius City District Court (in the second, hearing on September 17). The question from the headline will be asked again with each new case.