Pedophile Priest Gets 63 Years for Abuse

Mexico News Daily
March 14, 2018

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/pedophile-priest-gets-63-years-for-abuse/

It marks the first time in Mexican history that a priest has been jailed for pedophilia

Mexico News Daily | Wednesday, March 14, 2018

For the first time in the history of the Mexican justice system a pedophile Catholic priest has been sentenced to jail, a decision deemed a “milestone” by the victim’s lawyer.

Lopez, sentenced to 63 years. Lopez, sentenced to 63 years.

Carlos Lopez Valdez will serve 63 years for the sexual abuse of Jesus Romero Colin over a four-year period after Romero, then a minor, agreed to live with Lopez in the hope of one day becoming a priest himself.

Lopez, now 72, was sentenced yesterday in Mexico City. He was also ordered to pay 75,000 pesos (US $4,000) in reparation.

The victim’s lawyer told the newspaper El Universal that the sentence was “a milestone with regard to clerical pedophile cases.”

At least two high-ranking members of the Catholic church, Jonas Guerrero Corona and Marcelino Hernandez Rodriguez, the bishops of Culiacan and Colima, respectively, were aware of the abuse “but they did nothing,” said the lawyer for an advocacy group.

Luis Angel Salas of the Action Group for Human Rights and Social Justice, said his organization and Pena are considering filing lawsuits against both bishops.

Romero asserted that instead of cooperating on the case, the Catholic church tried to dismiss the accusations against Lopez.

The Archdiocese of Mexico issued a statement expressing its solidarity with Romero, and its willingness to collaborate with authorities.

The archdiocese said it will not rest until acts of abuse are eradicated from the church.