(SWITZERLAND)
blue News [Zurich, Switzerland]
August 14, 2025
By SDA Keystone ATS
A priest accused of various sexual offenses against minors was tried at the cantonal criminal court in Ticino. The man was sentenced to a conditional prison sentence.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- In Lugano, a priest from Ticino had to stand trial for alleged sexual abuse.
- The 56-year-old was accused of sexually assaulting nine people, four of whom were minors.
- He had suffered from “cognitive distortions”, the accused priest defended himself before the Ticino Cantonal Criminal Court.
- He was sentenced to a conditional prison sentence of 18 months and is banned from working with minors for the rest of his life.
The Ticino Cantonal Criminal Court in Lugano has found a priest guilty of multiple sexual assault and sexual acts with minors. The man was sentenced to a conditional 18-month prison sentence.
The court also imposed a lifelong ban on carrying out professional or non-professional activities involving contact with minors. The 56-year-old must also undergo outpatient therapy.
The prison sentence is conditional with a probationary period of two years. The priest will be released from prison immediately, explained the presiding judge. He had been in early release since last November, having previously spent three months in pre-trial detention.
The priest had shown “sincere remorse”, said the presiding judge at the opening of the verdict. The court also acquitted the man of numerous charges. Anyone who visits this courtroom often knows that far more serious cases have been tried here, the judge summarized.
Stricter interpretation for minors
The situation was clear in the case of the four minors with whom the now 56-year-old had committed sexual acts. The definition of a sexual act would be interpreted more strictly in the case of children.
In the case of young adults, it is more difficult to establish clear cases of sexual assault, the judge continued. The priest had touched the young men over their clothes, three of the young men listed on the indictment had not even noticed the touching, the judge explained.
The court was not there to judge “moral offenses”, but only dealt with what could be judged objectively. The judge assessed the massages with the young adults as “ambiguous acts” and not as explicit sexual acts – despite the fact that the priest had repeatedly run his elbow and forearm over the genitals of individual victims.
In the case of the young man with whom the priest had a close relationship, however, the acts were clearly “sexual”. The judge went on to say that the statements of both sides were consistent. The young man had also ejaculated as a result of the priest’s touching and had not wanted any more “massages” afterwards. He was also the one who ultimately reported the priest.
When questioned by the presiding judge, the priest said: “I didn’t listen to him properly”. In the beginning, the young man had appreciated the massages, but later he no longer wanted them. “I used him on some occasions.”
“Excessive demand”
The judge described the prosecution’s demand for a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence as “completely excessive”. The Ticino public prosecutor, on the other hand, argued that the 56-year-old had acted “in full awareness”. He had manipulated his victims by offering them “relaxation techniques”. During the interrogations, he had played down his actions.
During the questioning on Thursday morning, the priest, who was responsible for the pastoral care and guidance of young people within the diocese of Lugano and was also a teacher at various secondary schools in Ticino, appeared very calm. He answered the judge’s questions in an extremely considered and almost over-polite manner. It seemed as if he mainly wanted to explain his own position and talk down his actions between the lines.
The young men had taken off their pants for the relaxing breast massages because it was “more comfortable”. And: in “most cases” it was just a massage of the chest and stomach, only in “a few cases” did he run his elbow over the young men’s genitals, the man said calmly.
Accused appears very considered
Although he critically assessed his actions in retrospect, he appeared almost emotionless and did not really seem to be able to empathize with what he had triggered in his young victims, who had trusted him as a teacher and pastor.
He seemed to be motionless as he listened to the pleas of the public prosecutor, the private prosecution and the defense. He kept his eyes permanently closed and seemed to be in a different place.
It was only during his closing statement that the man expressed remorse and even praised the courage of his former protégé, who had turned to the justice system. This had helped him to understand the “immeasurable pain” that he had caused in his soul, said the priest.
“I betrayed myself.” He takes full responsibility. “I have never stopped loving – albeit in the wrong way,” the 56-year-old concluded.
Are you or has someone you know been a victim of sexualized violence or cyberbullying?
You can find help here:
- Pro Juventute, counseling for children and young people, phone 147
- Network “Prevention of sexualized violence in the leisure sector”
- Dargebotene Hand, worry hotline, telephone 143
- Information and further links on the topic of cyberbullying