6 child sex abusers sent to jail
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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SIX people have been jailed in the child sex abuse case that shocked Portugal.
After a major trial that lasted nearly six years, six men and one woman were found guilty on Friday of crimes including sexually abusing minors and adolescents, raping children and running a pedophile ring at a state-run children's home in Lisbon during the 1990s.
The six men were handed jail sentences of between six and 18 years for sexual abuse. The woman, whose house was used by the ring, was not given a custodial sentence because of a 2007 change in the law, the judge said in the televised ruling without elaborating.
The longest sentence was given to a 53-year-old former driver at the home, Carlos Silvino, who confessed to more than 600 crimes and gave evidence against the other defendants.
Others sent to prison were Carlos Cruz, a popular television presenter with a three-decade career in show business, who will serve seven years; and Jorge Ritto, a decorated career diplomat and former UNESCO ambassador, who was given six years, eight months in jail.
Their lawyers said they would consider an appeal.
Chief prosecutor Miguel Matias said the victims, now aged between 16 and 22, were pleased with the outcome.
Bernardo Teixeira, one of the victims, said he felt vindicated. "The court recognized that we were telling the truth," he said. "It's a happy ending for us. The pedophiles are going to jail."
The three judges at the trial read out a summarized version of the court's decisions, but they did not refer to dozens of other alleged crimes they found to be unproven. The full ruling, which reportedly runs to almost 2,000 pages, is to be released later.
The abuse centered on Casa Pia, a 230-year-old institution caring for needy children, most living in dormitories at premises around the capital.
A whistleblower broke the scandal in 2002, followed by a yearlong police investigation. Catalina Pestana, who was head of Casa Pia during the period when some of the abuse took place, said she would not celebrate the ruling.
"Nobody in their right mind can be happy after a case like this," she said. "These were some of the most horrible stories I've ever heard."
After a major trial that lasted nearly six years, six men and one woman were found guilty on Friday of crimes including sexually abusing minors and adolescents, raping children and running a pedophile ring at a state-run children's home in Lisbon during the 1990s.
The six men were handed jail sentences of between six and 18 years for sexual abuse. The woman, whose house was used by the ring, was not given a custodial sentence because of a 2007 change in the law, the judge said in the televised ruling without elaborating.
The longest sentence was given to a 53-year-old former driver at the home, Carlos Silvino, who confessed to more than 600 crimes and gave evidence against the other defendants.
Others sent to prison were Carlos Cruz, a popular television presenter with a three-decade career in show business, who will serve seven years; and Jorge Ritto, a decorated career diplomat and former UNESCO ambassador, who was given six years, eight months in jail.
Their lawyers said they would consider an appeal.
Chief prosecutor Miguel Matias said the victims, now aged between 16 and 22, were pleased with the outcome.
Bernardo Teixeira, one of the victims, said he felt vindicated. "The court recognized that we were telling the truth," he said. "It's a happy ending for us. The pedophiles are going to jail."
The three judges at the trial read out a summarized version of the court's decisions, but they did not refer to dozens of other alleged crimes they found to be unproven. The full ruling, which reportedly runs to almost 2,000 pages, is to be released later.
The abuse centered on Casa Pia, a 230-year-old institution caring for needy children, most living in dormitories at premises around the capital.
A whistleblower broke the scandal in 2002, followed by a yearlong police investigation. Catalina Pestana, who was head of Casa Pia during the period when some of the abuse took place, said she would not celebrate the ruling.
"Nobody in their right mind can be happy after a case like this," she said. "These were some of the most horrible stories I've ever heard."
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