Sexual Abuse in Exchange for Assistance and Work: Friars in Handcuffs

A robbery, blackmail, chats with embarrassing sexual content. It’s a murky story that has at its center the basilica of Saint Anthony ad Afragolain the Naples area, its parish priest, and two victims of a strange robbery in which only their cell phones were stolen. The Carabinieri have executed a precautionary measure of custody in prison issued by the investigating judge of Naples North against six suspects for aggravated robbery in competition and sexual violence, including two priests.

The investigation began in April of this year after the complaint filed by two men living in Afragola who were victims of a robbery committed by two people with their faces covered and armed with clubs and a knife, who, after having broken into their home, breaking down the front door, They had taken possession of a cell phone and tried in vain to take possession of another phone as wellthen fleeing. The investigation, also with the use of technical tools, allowed the material perpetrators of the robbery to be identified in a short time and to ascertain both their instigators and their motive. The victims themselves had linked her to previous relationships with some friars in the Campania region and sexual abuse and violence suffered. Wiretaps and images from video surveillance systems along the route followed by the robbers, which were detailed by the victims, provided many useful clues. The victims had also recognized the robbers in photos, and told of the sexual violence suffered inside some monasteries including the Basilica of Saint Anthony.

From the wiretaps it emerged that the robbery had been committed to take away from the two the phones in which were stored images and chats that were nothing short of embarrassing which could have created serious problems for some friars of the monasteries where the victims had worked. The order to carry out the robbery had been given the parish priest of Afragolaaddressing people who were supposed to hire the material executors. Furthermore, during the investigations, a letter was acquired written by the lawyers of the victims of the robbery and addressed to the superior friars in which, in requesting the payment of the sums relating to the work performed in the monasteries which had not been paid up to that point, reference was also made to sexual intercourse suffered by the victims in exchange for social assistance (clothes, food and anything else necessary for their survival) and working (ensuring them paid employment in every place of worship where the two friars happened to perform their religious functions).

The investigations carried out subsequently, also through the questioning of another friar who was aware of the sexual violence and the motive for the robbery, confirmed that the mandate to commit the serious criminal act could be traced back to a friar, arrested, who was driven by the strong fear of facing the consequences of a complaint filed by the victims of the violence supported by chats, videos and messages contained in the memory of the cell phones in their possession.