SAN ĠWANN (MALTA)
Malta Today
November 18, 2020
By Matthew Agius
Priest found guilty of corruption of minors has three-year prison sentence confirmed on appeal
A former parish priest convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy has had his three-year jail sentence confirmed on appeal.
The erstwhile parish priest of Burmarrad, Fr Donald Bellizzi, had been found guilty in June 2020 of corrupting the boy, a crime for which he was sentenced to three years in prison.
He had been charged with corrupting the boy and another two minors, participating in sexual acts with them and producing or circulating child pornography. He was eventually cleared of the latter charge but found guilty of the first two.
Bellizzi had appealed, arguing amongst other things that the sexual contact had been consensual and that this had a bearing on the charges.
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