SPAIN
El Pais
VALME CORTÉS Granada 17 FEB 2015
The judge overseeing a pedophilia case involving a number of priests in Granada is to only continue investigating the alleged ringleader of the group, Father Roman (R. M. V. C.), after ruling that the statute of limitations on the crimes of which the other 11 official targets are suspected has now expired.
The judge told the Andalusia regional High Court on Monday in a statement that the move was not based on any judicial whim or judgment but his compulsory obligation.
The 11 other suspects – nine clergymen and two laypeople – under investigation for charges of sexual abuse, indecent exposure and cover-up face sentences of less than three years in prison. From the time the alleged victim came of age – in January 2008 – to the opening of judicial proceedings in November 2014, “more than the three years stipulated in the law as the statute of limitations on these said crimes has passed,” Judge Antonio Moreno explained.
At the same time the facts relating to the other suspect, R. M. V. C., could constitute prolonged sexual abuse, a charge that carries a prison sentence of between four and 10 years – a period that has not yet passed.
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